


Pokémon Hero: The Ballad of Ralph Wingates

by SaintAnselmOfTheDesert



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Anime), Pocket Monsters: Ruby & Sapphire & Emerald | Pokemon Ruby Sapphire Emerald Versions
Genre: Beholderverse, Entirely Self-Indulgent, F/M, Original Player Characters, Pokemon Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-01-31
Updated: 2016-09-03
Packaged: 2018-03-09 19:51:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 8
Words: 48,067
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3262319
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SaintAnselmOfTheDesert/pseuds/SaintAnselmOfTheDesert
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>An adaptation of Pokemon Omega Ruby/Alpha Sapphire, with bits of Emerald thrown in just to give it that awesome kick. Maybe. We'll see. Inspired by the work of a good friend of mine, who's doing a similar thing but for X/Y. </p><p>Ralph Wingates was just an ordinary guy, from a town in the middle of nowhere. But one moment he was at school in the middle of the desert, and now he's in a world full of creatures he never dreamed could exist, with a mighty destiny hanging on his shoulders. He doesn't know it yet, but if there's one thing anybody knows about destiny, it's that it'll reveal itself eventually. </p><p>And a Pokemon hero, with stars in his eyes, will come alive tonight.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Welcome to the Jungle

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Eyes of the Beholder](https://archiveofourown.org/works/1804825) by [Isis_the_Sphinx](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Isis_the_Sphinx/pseuds/Isis_the_Sphinx). 



> Right! So this is going to be a thing. 
> 
> I'll freely admit: I'm not as big into this kind of thing than when I first started writing fanfiction back in my teenage years. You might say I wanted to branch out of that kind of thing and write stories about characters that weren't totally based on me. But, I guess I've only half-succeeded. I guess there's just something about writing out this kind of adventure that makes me feel like I'm 16 again. 
> 
> So, caution to the wind, then! 
> 
> This fic is inspired by "Eye of the Beholder" by Isis_the_Sphinx. Dammit all, Rhia, look at what you made me do. 
> 
> Check out her fic as long as you're reading mine. It's loads better than mine. And if my fic seems a little short and bare-bonesy to start, I'm aware. Just wanted to dip my toes in before I apply my full focus for this one.

Ralph stirred, trying to remember what had happened. Talk about a really bad night. His long arms reached out, trying to reach for his backpack, and his hands found grass.

Wait. Grass!?

Ralph shot awake, suddenly realizing the situation he was in. Indeed, he was no longer in the desert sands that he called home, but instead some kind of forested area. This was all wrong! Did he die? Absolutely fantastic. He had died somewhere between here and getting let out of class, and he didn't even get to do half the things that he wanted to do in life. Like finish that novel he started writing a couple of years ago. Or go to Japan, find the big statue of the RX-78 Gundam, and prostrate himself at its feet.

Ralph sighed, removing his glasses and wiping his face with the inside of his black suede jacket. And of course, it had to be a day that he didn't have a cell phone on him. Putting his glasses back on, he looked up at the night sky, trying to figure out which direction of where to go. Of course, all the stars were foreign to him, and gave him no answers. As he turned around, seeing nothing but conifers and tall grass in the blue-black gloom, suddenly something caught his eyes. Lights.

Lights meant civilization!

He quickly scanned the ground and spotted his backpack on the ground, a large beast of a thing colored black and dark green, with a small in the top of the second pocket, right near a patch of tall grass. As he went to grab it, he distinctly heard a low growling. Almost like a dog, but not quite. Wisely, Ralph snatched it from the ground and ran off in the direction of the lights.

The lights apparently belonged to a small town set among the trees. There were a handful of buildings in the area, the largest of which was off in the corner. Ralph slowed down, trying to get a feel for the place he was now in. It felt suburban, almost homey. There were a couple of people walking around, so apparently it wasn't that late at night. It wasn't that late at night when he left, too, which made his confusion about his new situation even worse. Still, he quickly spat into his hands and ran it through his hair, hoping he looked at least a little presentable to them, and made his way over.

"Um...excuse me?" the two people who were nearest to him looked up as he came over. One of them was a young man a little younger than he was, dressed in a black and orange shirt, black cargo shorts, and some kind of white ski cap with bits of brown hair poking out. "I've kinda been having a rough day, and I have no idea where I am right now. Can you tell me what place this is?"

"You don't know?" the ski cap kid asked, giving Ralph a funny look. "This is Littleroot Town."

"Littleroot?" Ralph also had a funny look on his face. "Never heard of it."

"This guy doesn't know what Littleroot Town is?" the ski cap kid's friend observed. "Maybe he's from some other region."

"Region?" Ralph asked. Already he was getting lost.

"Yeah. What region are you from?" the ski cap kid said. "Kanto? Johto? Sinnoh, Unova? Kalos maybe?"

None of the names were familiar. Ralph's confusion was now starting to eat away at his innards, turning into that kind of dread that only exists at rock bottom: a feeling of not knowing WHEN you were, let alone where, and the sure thought that you are well and truly lost, with no sense of direction to steer you in any direction you feel is right. "So? Where are you from?"

"...Palm Springs?" Ralph offered hopefully.

The other two looked at each other for a moment, a sign that basically confirmed Ralph's fears. "Huh. Never heard of it."

"...oh God." Ralph groaned, almost Jed Bartlett-like in his surrender to the true nature of his situation, and then promptly fainted.

* * *

Ralph woke up to the sound of people talking. He was now inside, with brighter-than-bright lights shining on him from the roof. He appeared to be in some kind of cot, and the room was full of books, papers, and gizmos that Ralph couldn't even begin to think about what they did. Turning his head, he saw the ski cap kid from before, talking with a much older man. He was in his forties, with brown hair, a beard, and a white lab coat. A doctor? It was hard to say, although from this distance he reminded him of an Internet personality from back home.

The older man looked over at him, and then promptly made his way over. "Oh, good! You're awake. I was hoping we wouldn't have to call in Nurse Joy from Oldale Town just to check you out."

Ralph shifted his glasses up, kneading at his eyes as the nausea threatened to take him for another spin. "What is this place?"

"You're in Littleroot Town," the man said, beaming like the sun, or a ten-year-old playing doctor. "Specifically, you're in my Pokemon Lab."

"Poh-kay-what? Sounds like a game my grandpa would play with me when I was a kid," Ralph said, finally pushing himself into a sitting position.

Once again, the two other people looked at each other. "Where are you from, again? Brendan here tells me you mentioned a Palm Springs when you met."

"Yeah," Ralph nodded. "I'm from the United States. Think of it as fifty territories loosely bound into one larger country. Specifically I'm from Indio, it's a small town I the state of California which is on the west coast and Palm Springs is the biggest city nearby and I've totally lost you, haven't I?" The kid (Ralph assumed he was Brendan) nodded, looking fairly confused at the explanation. The older man stroked his beard for a moment, trying to process all this new information. "Look, I know I sound like I've gone completely section eight here, but you gotta believe me! Look, I can prove it to you!" Ralph quickly dug into his jeans and pulled out his wallet, holding it out to him.

Surprisingly, the man pushed it away, smiling. "I never said I didn't. What's your name?"

"Ralph. My name's Ralph Wingates," Ralph blinked, putting his wallet away.

"Well, Ralph, my name is Professor Birch. This is my son, Brendan," said Birch, extending his hand out to him. Ralph shook it, still not sure what was going on. "I'm the Pokemon Professor here in Hoenn."

"Hoenn, huh?" Ralph asked. "Well, I've never heard of any place like this. Then again, I haven't been keeping on worldly affairs lately. Too focused on school."

"Do you know how you got here?" Birch asked, stroking his beard again. It was the kind of beard Ralph envied and wished he could have.

"Not really. I just got out of class late, it was night time, had time to kill before my bus arrived, so I was just doing some stargazing, and then I saw these bright flashes of light coming at me. Red and blue ones. They were fast. Like bat-out-of-hell fast."

Birch didn't stop stroking that magnificent beard. "Is that all you remember about these flashes?"

"I think so. I couldn't get a good look at them but...wait. I do remember white. White and blue and white and red. That's all I could see. Why?"

"Well, I was of the opinion that a Pokemon, or maybe two, based on what you said, was responsible for dropping you here. Did anything else happen?"

Ralph shrugged. "I just remember waking up in the middle of some grass just out of town. Between those flashes and then and up to now, everything's a blur."

"Out on Route 102?" asked Brendan, now choosing to be in the conversation. "You’re a pretty lucky guy. There's wild Poochyena in the tall grass there, they can get very aggressive if someone gets near their hunting grounds." Ralph guessed Poochyena were like wolves, and probably one of the "Pokemon" that had been mentioned several times thus far.

"Well, at the very least you're safe, and that's always a good thing," said Birch, clapping his hands once. "So I tell you what. Seeing as you have nowhere to go, I'm more than happy to have you sleep here tonight in the lab. In exchange, you can become my assistant here."

"Eh? Assistant?" Ralph blinked.

"Yeah! Brendan here also assists me on my work, but I'm always looking for extra hands. This way, you can get your bearings on where you are and learn more about Pokemon! ...assuming you want to, of course," Birch added as an afterthought, noticing the sideways glance his son gave him.

Ralph almost didn't want to believe it. He was so far from home it almost made him dizzy, wondering if he'd ever find his way back. But in the space of coming to this mysterious Hoenn region, he'd not only found some people willing to take pity on him, let alone believe his story about being whisked away from some place that may not even exist to Brendan or Professor Birch, but now he was being offered a job? He hadn't been able to find a steady job anywhere back home in years! "Of course I would!"

Birch grinned, as the two shook hands to seal the deal. "Fantastic."

* * *

Early the next morning, Brendan went off ahead to the lab alone to check on their new assistant.

Brendan Birch was twenty years old and there was no doubt in anyone's mind he was his father's son. To a point, of course. Birch was often prone to waxing on about Pokemon and was very mercurial, switching between lab work and field work almost at moment's notice. Of course, his mother was quick to point out that was what she loved about him. In a way, Brendan did, too, and he hoped that he'd still be so involved in Pokemon like he was when he got to his age. Of course, he still liked to think he had a little bit more common sense than his father did. Just a little.

Upon walking inside, he saw Ralph still asleep on the cot, having used his jacket as a makeshift pillow. At the foot of the bed was several books on Pokemon his father kept around, a copy of _The Casual Guide to Pokemon and How to Handle Them_ hanging loosely from Ralph’s hand. Apparently Ralph had borrowed them for reading material. He made a mental note about it as he nudged Ralph in the ribs. "Hey. Wake up."

Ralph made a groaning noise, almost like the sound of a male Pyroar waking up, and opened his eyes. "Mornin'. Ugh, what time is it?"

"About ten o'clock. What time did you go to sleep last night?"

"I forget," Ralph said sheepishly. "I couldn't sleep last night, so I grabbed some books off the shelf to study up, or at least put me to sleep."

Brendan picked up the books, taking them back to the shelves Ralph had plucked them from. "And? How'd it go?"

"Yeah, it didn't work. I don't remember anything about what I read. If there were audio books, maybe..."

Brendan chuckled. "Well, if you've got questions to ask about Pokemon, or the work my dad might have you doing, ask now while I'm here."

"...Okay. Let's start with Pokemon. What is exactly IS a Pokémon?"

Brendan tilted his head, mulling over the question. "Well, a Pokemon is a type of plant or animal native to the world. Here, this is an example of one." Brendan went into his backpack and produced a two-tone ball of some sort of red and white about the size of an orange. "Mudkip, come on out!" He lobbed the ball at the ground between him and Ralph, and it sprang open, unleashing a bright light. When it faded, a small blue fish-like creature on four legs, about the size of a toy poodle, now occupied the space. Ralph leaned in, completely taken by the creature before him. "The world is filled with all sorts of Pokemon of all shapes and sizes. Over 700 Pokemon species exist in the world, and Mudkip here is just one."

Ralph held out his hand to the Mudkip. Mudkip went over to Ralph and nuzzled his hand. It felt slimy, like touching a frog. "And what exactly does one _do_ with a Pokémon?"

"Depends, really," Brendan shrugged. "Some will keep them as pets. Others will train them and fight with them. They also can be used for industrial work. My dad and I study them as a profession. The possibilities are endless."

Ralph thought for a moment, looking at the Mudkip before him. "You said fight earlier. I hope there isn't a 'to the death' attached to that."

"Oh, Arceus, no," Brendan looked mortified. "It's like a boxing match. Whoever makes the opponent faint first typically wins. Deaths are incredibly rare. Like one in a million."

The cynic in Ralph scoffed at the notion, as the heat of battle between two superhuman creatures was bound to result in death at some point, much more commonly than one-in-a-million. The pet owner in him was mortified at the notion of something as small and cuddly as Mudkip fighting against something like the Poochyena he’d heard about the night before in a knock-down drag-out battle. It felt too close to dog fighting. And yet, he was curious about the concept, much more than he'd thought he'd be. "Are there rules? Sanctions?"

"All battles are regulated according to Pokemon League rules. We actually have a copy somewhere, if you want to leaf through it."

Despite of his curiosity, Ralph still wasn't convinced. Brendan then pulled something from his belt, almost like a smartphone but with a slightly bulkier casing, and hit a few buttons. "Here. This is a great example of what a Pokemon battle looks like. It's from the quarterfinals of last year's Pokemon League Championships."

Ralph watched as two Pokémon faced off against each other, one a white-furred quadruped with a gray face and one curved horn, the other a large blue dragon with red wings, and the two of them immediately went at each other, their owners yelling out commands. Despite the ferocity the two creatures exhibited, the two Pokemon didn’t appear to be all that bothered, and the trainers, whenever he could see them, were completely fired up in the battle, and the crowd was right there with them. It was definitely a knock-down drag-out fight of some kind, but it didn’t feel malicious.

Ralph looked away, watching as Mudkip batted at the black and red wushu shoes he had on his feet, curious about the light footwear. “Does Mudkip battle, too?”

“He can if he needs to. I’m no Pokemon League Challenger, but we can hold our own in a battle,” Brendan replied, putting away his device. “How do you feel about battles now? Satisfied with what you saw?”

Ralph nodded. “Do you know what it is your dad’s gonna have me doing around here?”

“Clerical work, most likely. Just keeping our information organized and the lab cleaned up. With as much time Dad spends out in the field, this place can get a little messy. Is that all you wanted to ask?”

“Just one other question,” Ralph said, a grin forming on his face. “When do we get started?”


	2. Jukebox Hero

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ralph starts work at the Pokemon Lab, a new (but familiar) face moves to Littleroot Town, and the start of a brand new relationship between a man and his...well, you'll see. 
> 
> What, you thought I would reveal what Ralph's starter is? You'll have to read on for it!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally, I can start putting the petal to the metal with this thing! At least, I hope so. 
> 
> See, I'm on the quarter system at my college, so we're already done with midterms. While I have been keeping up with my assignments for the most part, I may be forced to put off chapters of this thing so I can get that stuff done first. And there is a lot to do. So if you think I've disappeared off the face of the earth, don't worry, that's perfectly normal.
> 
> Anyway, on with the show!
> 
> As an additional note, if it feels like it's still too simply written, feel free to bop me over the head with a Smart Stick(tm).

The week that followed was more than anything Ralph could have imagined. Even though Brendan had told him he was going to be working in the lab, Birch seemed to have forgotten about that after a couple of days. On the third day, Birch had yanked Ralph out of the lab because he needed additional help looking at the Pokemon on Route 101, the northern route leading out of Littleroot Town. There was only a few natural species of Pokemon in the area. Although he didn’t see any Poochyena, there was a couple of other Pokemon native to the area. Despite his initial misgivings about being pulled out of the lab into a place where wild creatures that could breathe fire, shoot water like a riot hose, or God-knows-what else seemed to be as common as the birds, Ralph decided to go anyway, just to get some fresh air. The day ended with him being able to have a staring contest with a Wurmple, a red and yellow caterpillar-like Pokemon that was at least a foot long, much bigger than any other bug Ralph had ever seen. And when he blinked, it was halfway up the tree it was attached to and then out of sight.

All in all, a very fulfilling experience.

As they went back to the lab at the end of the day, Birch asked him, “So, Ralph. What exactly is this ‘Indio’ place you come from like?”

“Huh?” asked Ralph, looking up from the various pieces of paper that comprised of Birch’s notes. “Why do you want to know?”

“Well, for as much as you’ve been willing to learn more about Pokemon and learning about the Hoenn region, we don’t know all that much about you or where you came from,” Birch explained. “And you haven’t been all that talkative about where you come from or the kind of family you have back home.”

“It’s not that I don’t want to talk about it,” Ralph shrugged, finally passing between the two lampposts where Route 101 ended and Littleroot Town began. “It just didn’t seem…important, that’s all.” Despite this, both Brendan and Birch were looking rather expectantly at him, and finally Ralph threw up his hands. “Okay, okay, you got me. Where do you want me to start?”

“Anywhere you like. Hometown, family, just pick one and go from there.”

Ralph pursed his lips, sticking his hands into his jacket as he did. “Alright. I’m from this town called Indio. It’s this small town in the middle of the desert that’s home to only three things: sand, windmills, and old people. I swear to God at least sixty percent of the population is over the age of fifty.”

“Why would so many old people live in the middle of the desert?” asked Brendan.

“Depends on who you ask. Some of them, like my grandparents, they’ve lived out there most of their lives. Others are rich old fogeys that are in it for the golf or people who live in colder climates but come to the desert because they don’t like snow. We call them ‘snowbirds,’” Ralph explained. “Thing is, though, Indio used to be a lot bigger. Fifty or sixty years ago, Indio was one of the towns on this well-traveled road called Route 66, and on top of that, it was one of the main switchyards for freight trains, so it used to be this big ol’ hub. But then, Route 66 was retired, they created a new road system, and eventually people just stopped coming because the new road saved you ten minutes of driving and people started going away from trains and going towards trucks.”

“Wow…so, _nobody_ nobody comes through anymore?” Brendan blinked. He wasn’t entirely sure what to make of that.

“I always believe so, anyway,” Ralph said dismissively. “We get our fair share of tourists, but that’s all they are. I mean, Indio is still a major hub for music lovers, but they only show up about two weeks out of the year and then they’re gone again. Nobody wants to stick around for the triple-digit temperatures or the dust storms. Plus, for someone like me, who’s twenty-three, there’s literally nothing to do for anyone my age. The major hub for young people is at least two hours away.”

Birch and Brendan shared a look. Ralph wasn’t entirely sure if he’d come off as someone who hated his hometown (which wasn’t _entirely_ false) or was just that kind of bored and angry, like he was ready to add “#FirstWorldProblems” to the end of that statement. “Look, it’s not that I don’t hate where I come from. Far from it. It’s just…living in that kind of place just isn’t for me. My dad always told me people come back to the desert eventually, but I never could see why. And I don’t see the kind of appeal in it that my sister does.”

“Oh, so you have family back home, then?” asked Birch, hoping to steer the conversation to something a bit happier.

“Yup. Parents, two sisters, and a brother, and I’m the oldest out of the four of us. Of course, they’re also a lot more hard-working than I am, so what’re you gonna do,” Ralph said brightly with a shrug.

“Well, considering the work you do for us, I’m not entirely sure where you get off saying that."

“All I do is just sort paperwork and make spreadsheets,” Ralph shrugged. “One of my sisters is a TA for a kindergarten class and the other’s an assistant manager at a bookstore. My little brother’s studying computers. I was studying English before coming here, but this is literally the second job I’ve ever held.”

Silence fell between the three as they entered the Pokemon lab, dropping off all the things they’d taken with them and all the notes from the day in their various places around the lab. Ralph couldn’t help but notice that it was a lot cleaner, especially since he’d come here. Maybe there was some truth in what Birch said earlier, he thought, but then he put it out of his mind.

“You know, Ralph, if you’d like, you could always stay with us,” said Birch. “My wife and Brendan wouldn’t mind you staying with us until you happened to get your bearings. At least you won’t have to sleep here in the lab anymore.”

“I appreciate it, but I don’t want to intrude on your hospitality any more than I have already-“

“Hospitality? It’s the least we can do for you helping to run the lab!” Birch said. “The house is plenty big enough.”

Ralph looked from Birch to Brendan, and then down to his wushu shoes. He really didn’t want to, and the hospitality was just his kind of general answer to the question. As much as Ralph was loth to admit it, he always was a bit of a private person and he always did prefer to have some space between himself and others. But he didn’t want to say as much and make it seem like he was so walled off he wouldn’t ask for help himself. Admittedly, it was a kind of thinking that got him in more trouble than he’d wished for a couple of times, but that was neither here nor there.

However, it were as though Birch seemed to have sensed Ralph’s indecision, and he put his hand on his shoulder. “Tell you what. You can come stay with us for tonight. If it doesn’t work out, we’ll help you make accommodations here in town. Sound good?”

Ralph nodded. One night seemed better than just crashing on someone’s couch for an undetermined time. “Sure, why not?”

* * *

The next week after that almost seemed to pass too quickly. The following morning, Brendan took Ralph into Oldale Town, the next town over on Route 101, for clothes shopping. It was kind of strange for Ralph, to have a guy roughly his age take him into town for a new wardrobe, but he definitely could see the need for one. As much as he loved his jeans and gray shirt depicting the logo of the Baltimore Ravens, a proper wardrobe was definitely a plus.

However, for as much as he liked living in Littleroot Town and working at the lab, his excitement at the prospect of working in such an environment seemed to have dimmed. He attributed it to cabin fever and his own curiosity, more than anything. For as quaint as it was, there was almost even _less_ to do in Littleroot Town than at home. He almost didn’t want to believe it was true, but it seemed like the lab was the only real hub of activity in town. And as much as he wanted to explore more of Oldale Town, he didn’t have his own Pokemon like Brendan did to protect him from some of the other wild Pokemon on Route 101. In a way, he’d felt like he’d traded his old prison bars for another, but this one just had a different color. In spite of this, he still kept reading up on Pokemon, in particular battling and the Pokemon League that Brendan had pointed out to him on his first morning.

As the second week began, Brendan entered the Pokemon Lab to find Ralph already there, now halfway through the League rules at his desk. “Ralph? What are you doing up so early?”

“Sorry. Couldn’t sleep,” Ralph said around two sandwiched pieces of toast and jam. “Where’s your dad?”

“Dad’s already left. Said he needed to do some early morning fieldwork on Route 101 again. I was going to be heading out to Route 102, but when I saw the couch empty I figured I’d check the lab,” Brendan replied.

“So you’re leaving right now, then?”

“Actually, no, I wanted to check on you first. I’ll be leaving in about twenty minutes,” Brendan said, turning to leave, but then stopped. “Oh, I just remembered. Our new neighbors just moved in.”

“Neighbors, you say?” asked Ralph incredulously. He hadn’t seen any trucks on his way to the labs and he hadn’t heard any driving in since.

“Yeah, moving vans just drove in. I gotta get moving, so I won’t be able to drop in to say hello…”

“You want me to go instead? It’s not like I got anything better to do right now,” Ralph finished.

“Would you? That’d be great. I’d better get back home.” Brendan then turned around again and left. “It’s the house across from ours, by the way!”

“Got it,” Ralph mumbled around his toast sandwich. He quickly stuck it in his mouth as he went over to a nearby small mirror on the wall, checking his face and his hair to make sure it was properly combed. He was wearing one of his new sets of clothes, a dark red and black t-shirt, a lighter pair of jeans than his old dark-wash ones, and a pair of hiking boots, mostly on the off chance Birch would try to haul him off to do more field work. He still had his wushu shoes, worn and falling apart as they were, but they weren’t designed for good arch support and lots of walking. However, he did choose to keep his black suede jacket. He always thought there was an element of good luck in wearing it.

Or maybe he was wishing it was so. While the Ravens did win Super Bowl XLVII on the day he wore it (and sent out his favorite player with a smile), he was also wearing it when he was dragged out of his - home world? Plane of existence? Well, whatever the division of places between here and home was - to Hoenn. Whether that was turning out to be good or bad luck had yet to pan out.

Ralph stepped outside, and sure enough there was now a moving van outside the house on the small dirt road that separated the house from the Birches’ house, and a couple of large gray muscular Pokemon were moving various boxes in and out of the house. Ralph recognized them as Machokes, Pokemon whose muscles, training, and natural affinity for doing heavy lifting things made them great movers. So, he took a deep breath in, let it go, and then made his way past the Pokemon into the house. “Hello? Anyone home?”

“Oh?” A woman in a terracotta pink dress with brown hair in ponytails shaped like lightning bolts peeked her head out from the kitchen, then came over to meet him. “One of the new neighbors, I presume?”

“Something like that,” Ralph said, extending his hand. “Ralph Wingates. I work at the Pokemon Lab here in Littleroot Town.”

“Well, I’m pleased to meet you, Ralph. I’m Caroline,” said the woman, shaking his hand. “As you can see, we just moved here from Johto. You don’t mind if I put the TV on, do you?”

“Go on, then,” Ralph said with a shrug. “Why?”

Caroline went past him, quickly turning on the flat-screen TV in the living room, being almost as large as the one in his parent’s house. “I’m just hoping to catch him on TV before he goes away.”

Ralph was about ask just who it was she was hoping to see, when he heard the sound of someone coming downstairs to join them. That someone was a young woman around his age, with brown hair tied in a red and white bow and blue eyes, clad in a red tank top, white and black riding shorts of some sort, and yellow running shoes. “Mom? Who’s there?”

“Oh! May! May, come quickly!” Caroline, however, quickly motioned for her daughter to come, and Ralph wisely stepped out of the way as this girl named May ran past him. This girl who was actually pretty darn cute despite only seeing her for only five minutes – no! Bad Ralph! Find something else to focus on! “It’s the Petalburg Gym! Maybe Dad’ll be on!”

Okay. Let’s start there. Petalburg Gym. Ralph moved around behind them, trying to watch what was currently happening on the screen, but apparently whatever it was had already past. “ _We brought this report to you live from Petalburg Gym. Next up, a special look at a long-awaited meteor shower in the next show…_ ”

“Oh…it’s already ended,” Caroline sighed, turning off the TV. “Looks like your Dad was on, but we missed his part. Oh well.”

“It’s okay. We could always visit him once we’re done moving in and – Mom, who is this guy!?” May asked, looking over at the guy standing behind them, and unsurprisingly was shocked to find the mysterious newcomer in the middle of the new house. 

“Oh, I’m sorry. This is Ralph, he came to visit while you were setting up your room,” said Caroline, nudging her in Ralph’s direction. It was here Ray finally realized that, especially compared to both Caroline and May, he was practically giant. May was probably around 5’7, just a couple inches taller than his younger sister, but Ralph himself was a full 6’2. There was an old political comic from the 19th century that described then-Presidential candidate Ulysses S. Grant as a "giant among pygmies," and he wondered if that was the same as it was here.“He works for a friend of your father’s, Professor Birch.”

“How do you do?” asked Ralph, extending his hand. Mental note – ask the Professor or Brendan about the Gym Leader guy later.

“Nice to meet you, Ralph. I’m May,” May said brightly, shaking his hand.

“You know, as long as you two are here, Ralph, you wouldn’t mind taking May to go introduce herself to the Professor, would you?” Caroline asked. It was almost like she wasn’t asking him and more like she was dropping the biggest hint bomb in the Hint Wars to end all Hint Wars. “He does live next door, right?”

“Well, yes,” Ralph said, hoping to God he wasn’t sweating. “But he’s out on Route 101 conducting field work right there. You don’t mind me taking May out there, do you?”

“Well, if you work for the Professor, then it shouldn’t be a problem, right?” Caroline asked. “Go on, I need to start planning dinner anyway.”

“As you like it, then,” said Ralph. “Follow me, May.”

* * *

As May and Ralph left the house, May popped a question. “You didn’t seem too sure there, Ralph. Do you know the Professor’s out there like you said?”

“Well yeah, his son told me as much when he came to the lab earlier,” Ralph said.

“So do you not have your own Pokemon? Why?” May asked. The question was more curious than incredulous, but somewhere in the back of Ralph’s mind he couldn’t help but feel a little defensive about the question. “I would think a guy who worked at the Pokemon Lab would have a Pokemon.”

“Well, you have to understand, one, I’ve only had the job for all of two weeks,” Ralph explained, heading towards Brendan’s house. “Second, I usually spend most of my day in the lab itself, so it’s never been an issue. But, as long as we’re going to be meeting the professor, I may as well introduce you to someone else. Hopefully he hasn’t left yet…” He opened the door. “Hello? Ms. Birch?”

“Ralph, hello!” Ms. Birch made her way over from the living room, as Ralph and May entered the house. “Oh, and you are?”

“This is May, she’s one of the new neighbors who just moved in today,” Ralph explained, jerking his head in May’s direction.

“Nice to meet you, Ms. Birch,” May said, waving.

“Nice meeting you too, darling. Were you looking to introduce her to Brendan, Ralph?” asked Ms. Birch. Ralph made a motion with his hands more-or-less confirming it. “If you’re looking for Brendan, he’s in his room upstairs. He was about to leave, but he forgot something and had to go get it.”

“Ah, excellent!” Ralph said, clapping his hands once. “I was hoping to catch him, so I could introduce him to May before he left. Come on.”

Ralph led the way up the stairs to Brendan’s room. Sure enough, Brendan was at his desk, quickly going through his gear one last time. “Pokemon fully restored…items all packed, and…huh?” He looked up at the sound of Ralph and May coming up the stairs. “Hey, Ralph – oh.” He quickly looked past Ralph to see May there. “Y-you…” He had that kind of look between looking surprised and star-struck.

“Use syllables and sentences, Brendan,” cracked Ralph. Brendan gave the taller man a sideways glare as he walked past him to Ralph. And upon observing that he was around May’s height, it only reinforced Ralph’s earlier thought of how much he felt like Gulliver in Lilliput, but everyone wasn’t so foppish. “This is May, she’s our new neighbor.”

“Well, uh, nice to meet you,” said Brendan. “Dad – I mean, Professor Birch, he told me you were the kid of a Gym Leader, so I was thinking you’d be a guy.” May shot Ralph a quick look, to which Ralph could only shrug. He’d read about Gym Leaders while he’d been going through the Pokemon League regulations, but he didn’t remember any of it off the top of his head. “Whatever. Anyway, I’m Brendan. Ralph here might have told you that already, though. Hope he hasn’t made your ears drop off from not talking.”  Ralph raised an eyebrow at Brendan, which Brendan replied to with a kind of wry grin.

“Nice to meet you,” May said with a smile. Ralph was halfway convinced the smile could light up the room.

“Say, you got any Pokemon?” asked Brendan. “I could catch you one if it means that much to you…”

Ralph cleared his throat. “Brendan, didn’t you have something you were supposed to be doing? On Route 102?”

Brendan blinked, not processing Ralph’s words at first, but then he remembered what he was supposed to be doing and had forgotten in the moment. “Ah, geez, you’re right. I’d better go.” He quickly took off past May down the stairs. “Thanks for reminding me, Ralph!”

May could only look in the direction Brendan had gone for a moment before turning back to Ralph. “Does that happen a lot?”

“More than he’d care to admit,” Ralph said with a chuckle, showing May out of the house. “He’s more like than his dad that he thinks he is. He’s still a good guy, though. Now the professor’s out on Route 101, but he never strays far from town unless he’s looking for a particular Pokemon, so we just need to…” Ralph trailed off, realizing May was trying to listen for something he wasn’t. “Something up?”

“I just hear something. Kinda sounds like screaming,” May said, heading towards Route 101.

Ralph tilted his head, going to where May was to see if he could hear the same thing. There was definitely some kind of weird scream sound in the air, but it wasn’t something he could recognize. “I think I hear it, too, but that could be anything. We do get Wingull down this way once in a while, maybe that’s what we’re hearing…”

“H-help me!”

Now that sound, Ralph would recognize anywhere. “Or not! Come on!” Ralph and May ran out onto Route 101, and sure enough, Professor Birch was the one screaming. A pack of small gray wolf-like creatures, probably the Poochyena he’d heard so much about, were chasing him around one of the patches of tall grass of the main road, barking angrily and nipping at the tails of his lab coat. The professor quickly scrambled up a tree, but gaining the high ground was not enough to keep his furry pursuers from trying to jump and catch him in their jaws. “Professor Birch!”

“Oh, Ralph! Perfect timing!” Professor Birch called out, relieved to see his assistant coming his way. “Please! Help me out!”

“Uh, how, exactly!?” Ralph asked. It was a bit snippier than the situation would’ve called for.

“In my bag! There’s some Poké Balls!” Birch called out, pointing out near them. There at Ralph’s feet was the Professor’s bag.

May was already there, going through the bag. Three of the balls Brendan kept Mudkip in rolled out before them. “Which ones are full?”

“They all are! Just pick one!”

May nodded, and then selected the ball on the left. “Ralph, come grab one! Two Pokemon will do better as a team against that horde!”

Ralph looked at the balls, eyes zipping between the two remaining ones. He was unsure of which one to use, even though all three of them could’ve been identical for all he knew. He scratched his head, trying to rationalize which one to use for whatever reason. He reached out to one, thought better of it, went to the other, then thought better of _that one_ and went back to the other, before finally clutching at his temples, somehow completely overwhelmed by such a simple decision.

“Ralph, for Arceus’s sake-!” May pleaded.

“Gah, fine! Eenie meenie my-nee YOU!” Ralph put his hand over his eyes, pointed at a random ball, then grabbed the one in the center. Somehow, despite his earlier indecision, holding it felt good. It felt almost…natural. He looked over at May, and nodded.

“GO!” the two of them lobbed their balls into the space between them and the Poochyena, unleashing the Pokemon within.

“Treecko!” May’s Pokemon was a green lizard with a pink underbelly and yellow reptilian eyes, standing on two legs and two small tails that ended in a curl.

“Torchic!” Ralph’s Pokemon, meanwhile, was an orange chick with a ring of yellow down feathers around its neck, black beady eyes, and a plumage consisting of three small feathers.

It appeared to do the trick, as the five or so Poochyena, now seeing two other Pokemon ready to challenge it, turned away from Birch and instead focused on Ralph and May. May’s Pokemon merely folded its arms, ready for the challenge. Ralph’s Pokemon, however, gave a frightened chirp and actually did an about-face and hid behind Ralph’s leg.

“Ah, boy. What a way to start the day,” Ralph groaned. He quickly maneuvered the leg up and around the Torchic and gave it a little nudge in the back with his foot. “Don’t worry, big guy! I got your back!” Torchic chirped, looking back up at him. The lead Poochyena growled, advancing on it, and promptly it tried hiding behind his other leg. “Oh for the love of Peke…”

“Looks like it’s up to us, Treecko!” May said. “Start in the middle! Use Pound!”

“Treecko!” The Pokemon echoed, quickly taking off into the center of the horde like a ninja. The Poochyena snapped its jaws as it came in close, but it zipped nimbly to the left, then smacked it with its tail, knocking the wolf-like creature aside. The other four Poochyena, responded in kind, trying to catch the speedy lizard, but Treecko was already on the move, leaping over the wave as it came, then attached itself to a nearby tree, safely out of the way.

“Come on, big guy, we need to go help the professor!” Ralph wheedled. Finally, Torchic summoned up the courage and went to attack the nearest Poochyena, but promptly tripped over itself and fell to the ground. Despite his frustration about ready to bubble over, Ralph resisted the urge to show his displeasure. “On your feet, buddy! We can win if you get up!”

The Poochyena in question turned on the chick and launched itself at the chick Pokemon, but it quickly rolled out of the way, quickly getting back on its feet. The Poochyena attempted to bite its prey, but as it gave another frightened chirp, it unleashed a small fireball about the size of an apple, striking it right on the nose. Wisely, the Poochyena turned and fled back into the grass. “There ya go!” Ralph cheered. “It’s that simple!”

Treecko was also having success. From its position on the tree, it proceeded to climb up and then launch itself on another Poochyena with another Pound, and it fled as well. Another Poochyena decided to leave without a fight, leaving only one Poochyena, the leader of the pack, standing. The three Pokemon stared at each other for a moment. Then, Torchic moved forward to attack using its talons, but the Poochyena used its hind legs to kick sand in its eyes, then went for Treecko in a flying pounce. As Torchic ran around in a panic from suddenly being blinded, a brutal fight was being waged by the other two Pokemon, paws and fangs and tail and tongue coming into play before finally Treecko was wrestled to the ground, the Poochyena rearing back its head for a vital blow.

“Treecko! No!” May cried in a panic.

Ralph wasn’t sure what to do. He couldn’t just attempt to tackle the Poochyena away from it like one of his dogs back home had gotten loose without needlessly endangering himself, and Torchic was still largely out of commission. Just as he was about to go for the third ball in the bag to even the odds, however…

“TOR-CHIIIC!”

The Torchic, having apparently heard May’s shout in the melee, suddenly seemed to have regained its self-control, and promptly flung itself in a headlong charge against the Poochyena, blindsiding It completely as it used its own head as a battering ram. The Poochyena growled, displeased at being interrupted, but Torchic spat a smaller fireball at the ground in front of it, as if daring it to continue. The Poochyena decided discretion was the better part of valor and promptly rejoined its pack in the grass and then left for the forest.

“…what the heck just happened?” asked May, completely surprised.

“I think that Torchic just pulled a Michael Oher,” said Ralph, also surprised.

Birch, now safe from danger, came down from the tree. “Whew…that was close. I was in the tall grass trying to catch a glimpse of a Poochyena nesting ground and I got jumped. You saved my hide, Ralph. Thanks a lot!”

“Uh…sure, you’re welcome,” Ralph said, motioning for May to come over. “Though Superman here couldn’t have made it far without Wonder Woman.”

“Oh! You’re Norman’s girl!” Birch realized upon seeing May. “I nearly didn’t recognize you there. You’ve become quite the young lady since I saw you last.”

“Uh…thanks?” May asked.

“Tell you what, we should really be discussing this back in the lab in case that pack comes back,” said Birch, grabbing his bag from the ground. “Come on, follow me.”

“Right!” May said, grabbing the ball she’d summoned Treecko from. “Treecko, return!”

However, Ralph didn’t do the same for Torchic. Instead, he picked up the small chick Pokemon in his arms, as it only weighed maybe about five pounds, and started carrying it back to the lab. “Come on, big hero. Let’s get on out of here.”

“Torchic!” Torchic chirped in agreement.


	3. Here I Go Again

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The adventure of Ralph Wingates and his new Torchic friend begin with a battle against Brendan. That's all that really happens.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SO OVERDUE. BUT THE BALLAD GOES ON.
> 
> As a quick disclaimer, I do have to say something: these next few months are going to be rather hectic. Up until now, I've been taking classes at the local satellite campus, but this new upcoming quarter I'm going to have to take long bus trips that require me getting up early and not getting back until late. So if you thought this was overdue, imagine later chapters.
> 
> But, once June rolls around I should have all the time in the world to myself. In the meantime, please enjoy this next chapter.

Ralph, May, and Birch reconvened at the Pokémon Lab, Ralph offering to treat Treecko and Torchic’s wounds with some Potions Birch kept on hand in the lab. These Potion things were a marvel to Ralph. It was a purple handheld spray bottle that one sprayed on a Pokémon’s wounds and it would heal them fully in a couple of minutes. Major wounds would require more in-depth treatment and they didn’t revive knocked-out Pokémon, but it was definitely better than a hug and a kiss. While Ralph was tending to Treecko and Torchic’s scuffs and bruises and bite marks, May and Professor Birch were chatting it up.

“So, May! I’ve heard so much about you from your father,” Birch was saying brightly. “He told me you didn’t have your own Pokémon yet, but if that’s true, then that was quite the performance back there! Looks like you really are your father’s daughter!”

“Well, Mom always did say I was daddy’s little girl,” May said, scratching the back of her head in embarrassment.

“So how do you know May and her family, Professor?” Ralph asked, putting down the Potion he was using on Torchic and setting him back on the ground with Treecko. “I mean, I know I’m interrupting a private conversation, but…”

“It’s alright, Ralph,” Birch waved it off, sticking his hands in his lab coat pockets. “I’ve been friends with May’s father, Norman, since we were in school together. I was even the best man at his wedding. I’d completely forgotten that he’d moved to Petalburg City to take over as the new Gym Leader there, though. How is he?”

“Dad’s fine. I haven’t seen him yet, though Mom and I were going to head on out there to see him once we were done moving in,” said May.

“Ah. Well, be sure you send him my regards when you do meet him,” Birch said. Then, his eyes lit up as an idea appeared in his head. “I know! To say thank you for saving me earlier, how about you and Ralph take those Pokémon you used?”

“Really?” May asked, looking down at Treecko.

Ralph said something like _“_ what?”, but the sudden pang of shock at being given the Torchic currently walking around his feet for absolutely no reason at all jumbled his words, and it sounded more like “wuh-wuh-wuh-huh?”

“Well, clearly, they’ve taken a liking to you. Plus, I’ve been meaning to give Ralph a Pokémon for his protection since he works for me and all, but how he and Torchic handled themselves, I think that worked itself out, wouldn’t you say?”

Ralph gaped like a fish a few more times, shook his head, cleared his throat, and finally asked his question. “I…what…why me? I didn’t even do anything. May did all the work back there, I was barely a step above running around like a chicken with its head cut off.” Ralph then realized what he’d just said, then looked down at Torchic. “No offense.”

“Torchic!” Torchic chirped, blissfully unaware of what Ralph said. Maybe that was for the best.

“And yet it was your Torchic that saved my Treecko from that last Poochyena,” May brought up. “You and Torchic are definitely rough around the edges, but I think you’d make a great Trainer with enough practice.”

“My thoughts exactly!” Professor Birch exclaimed, nodding his head sagely. “So my suggestion to the both of you would be to go find my son Brendan on Route 103. What do you think, Ralph?”

Ralph considered it. His first outing with Torchic was definitely pretty bad, and probably would’ve gotten even worse if it weren’t for May and Treecko covering for him. If there wasn’t a more direct sign that maybe he wasn’t cut out for the Trainer kind of life. On the other hand, there was no guarantee he wouldn’t be facing other situations like it again, and this was what he’d been spending so much free time looking up. It’d be such a shame to drop it over one bad round.

“Sure, why not?” Ralph shrugged.

“Great!” Birch beamed. “I’m sure Brendan will be happy to hear that, too. He can help teach you what it means to be a Trainer. You do know where Route 103 is, right?”

“Yeah, that’s the route north out of Oldale Town, right? It’s a water route east to Route 110,” Ralph nodded. Brendan had pointed it out to him when they were there shopping for his new clothes.

“That’s the one. Oh, and before I forget, do you want to give Torchic a nickname, now that he’s yours?”

“A nickname?” Ralph blinked, looking down at Torchic. Torchic was still walking around in a circle around Ralph, pecking tentatively at the tile floor of the lab. As it started walking again, it tripped over its own feet and fell again.

Ralph actually chuckled, going to pick it up, but Torchic had already righted itself, looking up at his new Trainer with cute beady eyes. “Torchic!”

“He’s a small little thing,” Ralph said, looking down at him. “But be damned if he doesn’t have spirit. Get knocked down, he’ll just get up again. Like a phoenix.” He looked up, suddenly struck by inspiration. “Phoenix…phoenix…bingo! If you’re a phoenix, then that’s what I’ll call you. From this day forth, your name is…Simurgh!”

“Simurgh?” Birch and May echoed.

“Well, yeah. Phoenixes are originally based off of the simurgh, a mythical bird from Persian mythology. When it dies, it consumes itself in fire and leaves behind only ashes. After a while, a newly hatched phoenix is born out of the ashes to live again. Basically, it’s an avatar of reincarnation.”

“…oh, like Ho-Oh!” May suddenly said in realization.

“…sure, let’s go with that,” Ralph said, not at all understanding what a Ho-Oh was and absolutely certain a huge bead of sweat was hanging off his temple. Turning back to Torchic, he asked, “How ‘bout it, hotshot? You like that name?”

“Torchic! Torchic!” Torchic, now named Simurgh, chirped in agreement.

* * *

And so, Ralph and Simurgh left with May and her Treecko, heading back out of the door and out of Littleroot Town, heading out onto Route 101. As they traveled up the road to Oldale Town, Ralph caught May looking in the direction of her house briefly. “Dinar for your thoughts?”

“…what’s a dinar?” May asked.

“Dinar’s like a coin,” Ralph replied. “It’s from a game I used to play back home.”

“Oh, nothing, just…I just got my room the way I like it and I may not get to be around to enjoy it.”

Ralph gave May a strange look. “What does _that_ mean?”

“You know, when someone receives a starter Pokémon, it’s typically viewed as a rite of passage to start a Pokémon journey as a Trainer. It may have come about ten years later than I would’ve thought, but I’ve finally I’ve managed to get my first Pokémon.”

Ralph actually stopped. “Whoa, hey, backtrack a bit there. Are you saying kids can leave home as early as ten years old here?”

“Some of them do,” May said. “There’s one Trainer out there who started at ten years old and he became one of the best trainers there ever was. Me? I liked Pokémon, but I never really saw myself as the training type, you know what I mean?”

“Really? Do tell,” Ralph asked. “I mean, you handled yourself like a champ back there with the Poochyena, why would you wait so long to get one yourself?”

May actually looked away for a moment, poking her fingers together. “Oh…you know. Reasons.” An uncomfortable silence fell between them before May spoke again. “Ralph, you may want to step out of the tall grass before you get jumped.”

Ralph blinked, realizing that he had stopped in the middle of the tall grass just outside Oldale Town itself, and Simurgh was actually pulling rather frantically at his ankles with his beak, trying to pull him out of the grass. He promptly stepped out. “Okay, okay, I get it now. Settle down, will ya? Jesus…”

Oldale Town was a relatively small town, all things considered. After all, there were only two towns in the immediate vicinity: Littleroot Town to the south and the much larger Petalburg City to the west. In that regard, Oldale Town seemed to exist in this strange kind of place between a suburban city and a border town. They were greeted by the sight of a clerk at the local Poké Mart, which was a chain of stores that sold Trainer supplies. Even though Ralph had made a note to himself to visit later, the clerk actually gave them both five Potions as a promotion and sent them on their way. Ralph was still trying to figure out who in their right mind gave away whole sets of…well, _anything_ , especially things of high value like Potions would be, to any Trainer that happened to be walking into town.

Of course, given he had been given five of anything important, Ralph really didn’t care.

The two of them walked down the street onto Route 103. This side of the path wasn’t all that interesting, just more tall grass leading up to the edge of the dense forest northward and the lake to the east that acted as a water route eastward to Route 110, north of Slateport City. The lake was too narrow for a ferry system, but Brendan pointed out Trainers could use water Pokémon to traverse as an easy way to cross from west to central Hoenn, assuming they were strong enough and had access to something called an HM. He made a mental note to ask Brendan about it later, now that he had a Pokémon of his own.

Speaking of Brendan, Ralph spotted him at the top of a ridge, currently going over a device in his hand and a notebook, scribbling something down in it. “Okay, so it’s this one and that one live on Route 103…”

“Brendan! Yo!” Ralph called.

Brendan looked up as Ralph and May came up the path to the ridge he was on. “Hey guys!” he then noticed the Poké Ball hanging off May’s bag and Simurgh peeking out from behind Ralph’s ankle. “Oh, look at that. Dad gave you Pokémon! …and finally, in Ralph’s case.”

“Yup. Took your dad getting ambushed by a pack of Poochyena to do it, though,” Ralph replied a little bluntly.

“He what?” Brendan asked. He did look worried, but there was a kind of I-was-actually-kinda-half-expecting-this look on his face, too.

“He’s fine. We used our Pokémon to chase them off,” explained May.

“Oh, good,” Brendan said, relaxing. “…you know. As long as we’re here, what do you say to a Pokémon Battle? I’ll show you guys what being a Pokémon Trainer’s all about!”

May and Ralph looked at each other. May shrugged, and Ralph eventually did as well. “Pick your poison.”

“Okay then. Ralph, let’s start with you!” Brendan said, coming out of the grass. “I’m actually curious to see what your skills are like.”

Ralph gulped, not entirely relishing the thought of fighting Brendan, especially knowing he had a Mudkip, and therefore a type advantage, but he was also not entirely sure how Simurgh would handle himself against another trained Pokémon, especially given how the fight against the Poochyena would turn out. Nonetheless, Ralph took about ten steps away from Brendan, and then faced him. “Okay. Let’s do this.”

“Okay!” Brendan said, pumping his fist as he produced his Poké Ball and threw it out. “Mudkip! Go!” There was a bright flash of light, and Brendan’s blue quadruped water Pokémon came out.

Ralph jammed his fists together. “Alright! Simurgh, let’s rock!” Simurgh, however, gave a frightened chirp and went back to hiding behind Ralph’s legs. Ralph sighed, maneuvering his leg to send him out. Again, Simurgh just went to hide behind the other leg. “Come on, Simurgh, this isn’t like the last fight…”

Brendan looked over at May, who shrugged again. However, Brendan had his own thoughts about the situation. _Is this that Torchic Dad saved all those years ago? That would explain a lot…_

Finally, Ralph got Simurgh out in front of him to face Mudkip, but it was clear that Simurgh was not into the idea of battling, as if mirroring his own Trainer’s trepidation.

“Okay!” May said, taking the role of referee for the battle. “This is a one-on-one battle. First one score a KO against the opponent wins! Begin!”

“Let’s do this Mudkip! Tackle!” Brendan commanded.

“Kip!” Mudkip took off running, lunging at Simurgh. Like clockwork, Simurgh gave a frightened chirp and whipped around, running away from the oncoming strike.

“Simurgh! Ugh, boy…” Ralph groaned, watching Mudkip chase Simurgh around. He tried to assert control of the situation. “Simurgh, quick! About-face and use Scratch!”

Simurgh did turn around, but before it could act fast enough to swing its talons, Mudkip hit the follow-through Tackle, sending Simurgh straight to the ground. True to its namesake, Simurgh quickly picked itself up.

“Attaboy, Simurgh! Now, try a Growl!”

Torchic chirped, trying to sound at least a little intimidating. It didn’t really help matters, as Mudkip quickly shook it off. “Water Gun!” At Brendan’s command, Mudkip unleashed a stream of water right at Simurgh’s face, causing Simurgh to chirp in fright again and take off running in another direction.

“Simurgh, focus! We can do this!” Ralph called. “Try for an Ember! Aim right for his face!”

Simurgh responded, firing a small fireball, but it sailed wide left of its target. Mudkip fired another Water Gun, this one striking true, knocking Simurgh backward, and ended up flopping right into the pond. The battle was over almost as quickly as it began.

“Simurgh is unable to battle!” May called. “The winner is Brendan and Mudkip!”

Ralph sighed, going over to the pond and fishing the KO’d Simurgh out of the water. Simurgh gave a chirp at him, almost like it was drunk. “Yeah, buddy, we’re done here. Good try, though,” Ralph patted Simurgh on the head, and then put it in its Poké Ball.

“You did pretty good for your first go, all things considered,” said Brendan, taking a Potion out of his backpack and spraying it on Mudkip to heal what few wounds it had from the battle. “Do you want to go take Simurgh to the Pokémon Center in Oldale Town right now, or do you want to stick around to watch May and me battle?”

“Actually, I’ll stick around for this one,” Ralph mumbled.

Brendan looked at Ralph for a moment, having almost missed what he said, but then nodded. He figured it was a self-conscious kind of thing, not really wanting to go back to the Center by himself. Between this and Ralph’s description of him compared to his siblings in whatever other world he came from, though, he wondered if there was something else in play. “Alright. May?”

“Okay!” May said, giving her bow on her head a swift tug before producing Treecko’s Ball. “Treecko, let’s go!”

* * *

There were three jobs that a Pokémon Professor typically had in any region. One was to assess the population of all wild Pokémon that lived in the region and monitor the health of each species. Another was to act as the foremost mind in all matters Pokémon in the region, especially when it came to building projects and how it would affect the environment and habitats of wild Pokémon in the area, like how he had to cancel a big project east of Rustboro City earlier in the year because of adverse effects to the Pokémon in the area. Finally, it was his job to act as the man who confirmed the new generation of Pokémon Trainers every year.

Birch always enjoyed all aspects of his job. Sure, he always got excited at the prospect of fieldwork and his enthusiasm for Pokémon was strong enough to draw his son into it. But there was always something special in giving the Hoenn starters to the next generation of Pokémon Trainers that came to him in Littleroot Town. Of course, not every Trainer was a Champion. Only a select few ever made it to the Pokémon League, and the rest either struggled with a particular Gym and never really continued or went on their way elsewhere and never came back. It did happen, as much as Birch wished it didn’t.

The door to the lab opened, and Brendan entered the lab. “Oh, there you are,” Birch said, looking up from his notes. “Did you battle Ralph and May?”

“Yeah,” Brendan nodded, taking his backpack off for the moment.

“And?” Birch asked hopefully.

“Well, you were right about May,” said Brendan, holding up his Pokégear, which had a text message on it. “She’s definitely got the skills of a Pokémon Trainer, though I guess that’s to be expected if she’s really the daughter of the new Gym Leader. I did take on Ralph first, though, and…”

Birch wilted a little, not liking the sound of his son’s tone. “That bad?”

“He’s…okay,” Brendan explained. “He’s definitely got the mindset of a Trainer, but he needs a lot of work.”

“Thought so,” Birch said with a sigh.

“That said, though, I do think he’s got potential. My one big issue isn’t him, it’s Simurgh, his Torchic. Dad, did you give Ralph the Torchic you saved from getting snatched and eaten by that Staraptor when it hatched?” asked Brendan. “That one was always afraid of other Pokémon.”

“Was it? I guess it did explain its actions when Ralph used him against that Poochyena…” Birch asked, remembering Simurgh’s initial reaction to the Poochyena assault from earlier in the day. “Do you think Ralph is capable of drawing out its inner strength? Because when the leader of the pack attacked May’s Treecko, that Torchic actually charged headlong at it and scared it off.”

Brendan opened his mouth, and then closed it, actually considering the thought. “Well, if you put it like that…I’d still suggest Ralph work on his skills some if he’s serious about being a Trainer like I think he is. And it’d help if he had a really good teacher.”  

Birch nodded as the door opened, revealing Ralph and May. The two of them were chatting rather animatedly and laughing, and Birch suddenly had an idea. “A good teacher, you say…Ralph! May! Over here!”

Ralph and May came over, Ralph picking up Simurgh in his arms again. “So, May. I heard you beat Brendan on your first try! That’s amazing! Ralph, I hear, not so much, but definitely a strong showing.”

“Strong showing my foot,” Ralph grunted. “I barely knew my rear end from my elbow in that battle.”

“Don’t be like that, Ralph. You only did become a Trainer today, plus, I’ve been doing this a lot longer than you,” Brendan said. “But, now that you know what being a Trainer is like, you stand a much better chance in all your future battles. Right?”

Ralph said nothing, but the hopeful look on his face said he agreed with the sentiment somewhat, or at least wanted to. Birch took the opportunity to quickly go over to a table and take something off the table. It was an orange-red device with a screen in the middle and a couple of buttons. In a way, it reminded Ralph of his old Game Boy Advance, stashed away in some corner of his little brother’s room.

“What is it?” asked May.

“What you’re holding is a Pokédex. It’s a high-tech tool that automatically makes a record of every Pokémon that you’ll encounter. I was holding onto it for my research, but I think you two deserve it more,” said Birch, holding the devices out to them. “Brendan has one, too.” Brendan proceeded to pull his out of his pocket, showing it to the two of them.

“Really? What for?” asked Ralph, putting down Simurgh and weighing the device in his hand. It basically weighed the same as a smartphone back home.

“Well, that’s its other function. This Pokédex also contains your licenses to catch Pokémon that you’ll be obtaining as you go on your journey. All you need to do is show it Nurse Joy at the Pokémon Center in Oldale Town and you’ll be registered as Trainers in the Hoenn Pokémon League. The Pokémon you meet, the adventures you’ll have...I want the two of you to experience them both as you travel. Just be sure to come back and visit me and show me how you’re coming along!”

Ralph looked at the Pokédex in his hand, then on a whim held it out towards Simurgh. There was a slight whirr from the machine, and then the screen lit up, displaying Simurgh’s information.

“ _Torchic. The Chick Pokémon_ ,” the device said, its voice oddly familiar to him. “ _Torchic sticks with its Trainer, following behind with uneasy steps. This Pokémon breathes fire at over 1800 degrees Fahrenheit, including fireballs that leave the foe scorched black._ ”

Ralph nodded, trying to figure out how in the bluish flaming hell the small little chick walking around his feet could shoot fireballs hot enough to match a cremation oven. May, however, was so awed by the Pokédex and whatever symbolism there was in it she may as well have received a visit from the President. “Wow. Thank you!”

“Welcome, brother and sister. We have been expecting you,” Brendan cracked. “Here. Take these with you.” Brendan also handed him five smaller Poké Balls, each one about the size of a large grape. “These Poké Balls are empty, so you can use them to catch wild Pokémon. Consider it your mark of passage into becoming a Pokémon Trainer.”

“Thanks, Brendan!” said May, storing the balls in her bag. “I’m gonna quickly go and meet my mom before I go. Ralph, you coming?”

“…actually, you go on ahead. I’d like a quick word with the Professor in private before I go,” Ralph replied. “I won’t be long, though, so you can go on ahead.”

“Okay!” said May. She then quickly went out the door, leaving Ralph alone with Birch and Brendan.

“Something wrong, Ralph?” Birch asked.

“I don’t know, I just…I feel a little weird,” said Ralph, putting his Pokédex in his jacket pocket. “I mean, between me losing to Brendan and my lackluster performance with those Poochyena from earlier, are you sure this is what I should be doing? Aren’t you going to be shorthanded without me in the lab?”

Birch nodded in understanding before reaching out and putting his hands on Ralph’s shoulders. “Ralph. I know you’re still trying to figure out everything about why you were brought here and learning everything about Pokémon and training and stuff like that basically from the ground up, and I can only help you so much. But one thing I know for certain is that you’re going to find a lot more answers out there than you are sticking around here in Littleroot. And I’ve got a good feeling May’s more than happy to help you with your training and battling skills.

“So don’t worry too much about me here. Go out and find your answers. I’ll try to help you out here however I can.”

Ralph, touched by the professor’s words, could already feel a few tears trying to escape out the corners of his eyes. Brendan opened his mouth to say as much, but Ralph waved him off, wiping them away instead, then exhaled, adjusting the edges of his jacket, and nodded once. “Thank you, Professor Birch.”

Birch took his hands off Ralph’s shoulders and extended one of them out to him. “Well then, Mister Wingates. All that’s left to say is thank you for your help and I wish you the best of luck.”

Ralph shook it, then looked down at Simurgh, who was also looking up at him. “What do you say, Simurgh? Ready to hit the road?”

“Torchic!” Simurgh chirped.

“Sounds good. Let’s go see if May’s settled things with her mom.”

* * *

May wasn’t kidding when she said Mom thought of her as Daddy’s little girl.

Her dad, Norman, was definitely one of the stronger Pokémon Trainers that one would meet in the world of Pokémon, and the new position he had as Gym Leader here in Hoenn. At the same time, though, her mother Caroline was also one of the best Pokémon Coordinators of her time here in Hoenn and had been travelling around in Johto where she met Norman. The rest, as they say, is history.

In truth, she had always gravitated towards her father more than anything. Being exposed to battles at such a young age and watching him battle in Johto was proof of that. She used to emulate her father’s moves a lot when she watched him on TV as a kid, and now here she was with her own starter Pokémon and about to set out in her father’s footsteps once and for all. The only real downside to all of this was that it was in Hoenn, far away from all her old friends and anything that was familiar to her. She may as well have stepped onto Kalos, for all the difference it made, for she really had nothing to guide her except for maybe the wind or the clouds.

“May! Wait!”

May stopped, having reached the lampposts that led to Route 101, and saw her mother had come to head her off. “May! May! Did you introduce yourself to Professor Birch?”

“Yeah, mom, I did,” May nodded.

Caroline opened her mouth to say something, but then got distracted by Treecko’s Poké Ball from its place in her bag. “Is that a Pokémon? Let me see!”

May almost dreaded what the reaction would be if her mother was going to override her decision to go on a journey with Ralph, but nevertheless grabbed Treecko’s ball and called it out. Treecko looked up at Caroline, still chewing on the piece of branch it had in its mouth. Caroline leaned down to get a closer look at it. “Oh, what an adorable Pokémon! Did you get this from the professor?”

“Yeah. Ralph got one, too.”

Caroline blinked, finally starting to piece together what was going on. May couldn’t quite read her mother’s expression, caught somewhere between nostalgia and that feeling of “oh-my-God-my-little-girl’s-all-grown-up” that she’d seen so much of on TV. “You’re your father’s child, alright. You look good with a Pokémon…” Caroline looked away for a moment, and May caught the subtle movement of her mother’s hand wiping away tears. “…to think that you have your own Pokémon…your father will be overjoyed. But don’t push yourself too hard. If anything happens, you can come home, honey.”

“Thanks, Mom,” May nodded. Caroline ruffled her daughter’s hair, then proceeded to walk back to the house, humming a song as she did. Ralph and Simurgh came out a few seconds later. Ralph now had his backpack that he had on him on arrival on his back now, a large green and black thing with a bit of duct tape covering a hole in the top.

“Well. Right on, right time, right on time,” said Ralph.

“Finished things with the professor, I take it?” asked May, calling back Treecko.

“Ayup. Just needed to clear some things up and fetch my tackle before we left. Any idea how we’re supposed to be doing this kind of thing?” Ralph said, sticking his thumb under his backpack’s straps.

“I know Professor Birch said we needed to go talk to Nurse Joy in Oldale Town before anything else. After that, the only real thing I wanted to do was to go talk to my dad in Petalburg City,” May said.

“Well, I hope you don’t mind if I tag along with you, then?” asked Ralph. “It’s not like I have anywhere important to go after we settle our League business.”

“Of course. Pretty sure you’d be lost without me,” May said.

“Dream on. Just because I have no destination doesn’t mean I’m lost,” Ralph said.

May chuckled, looking up the road to Route 101, the skies turning a blazing orange as the sun set beyond the treeline in the west. “Well, I bet it’ll be nightfall by the time we hit Oldale Town. We should stay the night there and be on our way to Petalburg City by tomorrow morning.”

Ralph actually sagged forward at that. “Ugh…”

“Aw, muffin. Some of us had to get up that early every day,” May punched Ralph lightly on the forearm.

“Not me. I stopped that when I graduated high school,” Ralph countered. “I was hoping to keep it that way.”

“Well, we may as well get moving. Know any good songs to pass the time? Or do they not have music over where you’re from, too?”

“You’re a piece of work,” Ralph grunted, but his smile remained. He closed briefly his eyes as he went through his mental repertoire, and settled on a song he felt was perfect for the situation. “You lead the way, I’ll see if I can set the pace, okay?”

May shrugged and started walking, Ralph and Simurgh following behind as Ralph began to sing.

_“No I don’t know I where I’m going,_   
_But I sure know where I’ve been,_   
_Hanging on the promises in songs of yesterday…_   
_And I’ve made up my mind…_   
_I ain’t wasting no more time…_

_Here I go again…_   
_Here I go again…_

_Though I keep searching for an answer,_   
_I never seem to find what I’m looking for,_   
_Oh, Lord, I pray you give me strength to carry on,_   
_‘cause I know what it means…_   
_To walk along the lonely street of dreams…_

_And here I go again on my own!_   
_Going down the only road I’ve ever known!_   
_Like a drifter I was born to walk alone!_   
_And I’ve made up my mind…_   
_And I ain’t wasting no more time…”_

May smiled, looking westward towards Route 102 and Petalburg City in the distance, head bobbing with Ralph’s baritone singing as they headed down the road back into Oldale Town. Even if Ralph was a bit too mysterious and could barely tell a boulder from a Boldore when it came to Pokémon battling, she had a good feeling about him. At the very least, this leg of her Pokémon journey wouldn’t be boring.

Safe to say, Hoenn rocked so far.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And so our adventure begins. Who knows when it'll end? I sure don't. This kind of thing could take a while.
> 
> The lyrics at the end of the chapter are White Snake's "Here I Go Again." If you're thinking that there's a connection between it and the title of this chapter...well, you'd be right. I blame the Supernatural fan in me for these rock song chapter titles, and my sisters for the Supernatural fan in me.


	4. Don't Stop Me Now

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ralph and May travel to Petalburg City, we meet May's dad, and May and Ralph help a little kid catch a Pokemon. Also, Ralph learns a lesson about catching Pokemon that puts him at odds with Brendan and May.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally, we can carry on! I've only got three days to write to keep this story going, but I'm going to keep writing, especially if Ralph is going to catch up with certain other parties within the next century.

As expected, May was the first one up that morning.

The two of them had made it back to Oldale Town just in time for the sun to set, just like she had predicted, and decided to crash at the Pokémon Center for the night. Ralph seemed absolutely surprised about even the concept of a Pokémon Center, even the first time she had taken him there to revive Simurgh following his somewhat-disastrous battle with Brendan, as he was fully expecting to be charged for their services and also staying a while. But, Pokémon Centers were run by the Pokémon League, so there was no charge, and they were also designed to be resting points for Trainers anyway, so they were equipped with beds and a fully-loaded cafeteria. May could’ve sworn she’d seen sparkles in Ralph’s eyes, particularly at the mention of the food, and the amount of food that he did take for dinner that evening was absolutely staggering.

She figured it was a size thing. After all, Ralph was almost a good one and a half times her size. But at the same time, if it weren’t for that fact, she could’ve sworn her travelling companion was actually a Snorlax.

After getting out of bed and preparing for the journey west on Route 102 to Petalburg City, May quickly doubled back to check on Ralph, and found him still asleep in his bed, with his arms wrapped an also-still-sleeping Simurgh. She couldn’t help but chuckle a little, finding the whole thing quite cute, to say the least. After quickly snapping a photo of him with her Pokégear, she started moving Ralph’s foot. “Ralph. Wake up.”

Ralph mumbled something that sounded like “gimme pizza” and carried on sleeping. Not to be deterred, May sneaked over to Simurgh and poked the Torchic awake, telling him, “Wake him up.” Torchic nodded, promptly rolled over in Ralph’s long, monkey-like arms, and exhaled hot air in his face. That did the trick, as suddenly Ralph recoiled and snapped awake. 

"Seriously?" he asked flatly, looking from the Chick Pokemon to May. "Seriously." 

"It's almost eight o'clock. I want to be in Petalburg City before noon," May replied. 

"Route 102 isn't that long, though. We'll get there well before noon even if we were leaving an hour from now." 

"That's only if you're not battling the way there. But you'll need all the training you can get if you're going to challenge the first gym when we get there. Now get up and get dressed." Then May left, but not before quickly poking her head into the room for one last parting shot. "And don't eat too much for breakfast, I think I saw the chef crying after dinner last night..." 

"Move along, Miss Laugh-And-A-Half," Ralph growled. May giggled and then went on her way. Ralph grumbled something snide as stood up, reaching for his backpack to retrieve his clothes for the day. Noticing Simurgh was giving him a blankly curious look, he asked him, "Oh, what? Would you like to comment on me having the appetite of a small elephant? It's not my fault the portions here are so small!" 

"Chic!" Simurgh almost could've started whistling with the look of innocence he had. 

"Yeah, that's what I thought." 

* * *

Route 102 was a leisurely path west out of Oldale Town. There were a couple of larger ponds on the route that were home to the odd Water Pokemon in addition to the  but it was also a good place for beginning trainers to come and battle while exchanging tips. May being May, she and Treecko seemed to have no trouble taking on the trainers, most whom were using the raccoon-like Zigzagoon or Poochyena. Ralph, however... 

"Simurgh! Scratch!" Simurgh scampered forward, but after taking three or four steps toward the Wurmple it was battling and then promptly fell flat on its face.  

"Quick, Wurmple! Use String Shot!" the opposing Trainer shouted. The Wurmple opened its mouth and unleashed a long stream of silk, wrapping Torchic in thin ropes. While it looked like it wouldn't do too much other than mess up Simurgh's feathers at least, Simurgh immediately started running around, chirping in fright as if the ropes were made of acid. Ralph groaned, already revisiting memories of Simurgh during his fight with Brendan and his Mudkip. "Now! Poison Sting!" 

Wurmple opened its mouth, unleashing a hail of needles in Simurgh's direction. Simurgh froze, the attack just hissing past its beak and lodging in the nearby tree. Ralph saw an opportunity and took advantage of it. "Simurgh! Turn your head and use Ember!" Simurgh promptly turned and fired a fireball at the Wurmple, landing a solid body blow against it. The Wurmple sighed and finally relented, defeated. "There ya go, big guy! Come here and let me get some of that crap off of you."  

May, also victorious, came over with Simurgh as Ralph started trying to dig the silk and pull it off, pausing only to take his prize money from the trainer as he made his way west to their eventual destination. "Not bad, Ralph. It's good to see you're starting to hit your groove as a Trainer." 

Ralph made a kind of unintelligent reply at first, as he'd stuck the wad of folded bills in his mouth so both of his hands were free to clean up Simurgh. It wasn't long before the silk was liberated from his Pokémon's feathers, though, so he took the bills out and said, "Such as it is. I still feel like we're winning on sheer dumb luck." As he put it in his wallet, May nudged Ralph's ribs and pointed at Simurgh, who had currently busied himself with poking at the earth in search of food. Hoping Simurgh hadn't heard (and perhaps to mask his earlier observation if he did), he took out one of the Potions he'd gotten the day before out of his backpack and picked up Simurgh, spraying it on him. "But we're winning, so I'm not complaining. How far until Petalburg City?" 

"It actually isn't that far from here." Ralph and May looked towards the newcomer into their conversation, and found that Brendan had managed to catch up to them. However, something else caught Brendan's eye, and he walked past them to see what it was. "Hey! Check this out, guys!" Ralph, May, and Simurgh quickly joined their friend just a short ways down the route, and Ralph saw three butterfly-like Pokémon fluttering past, each of them about the size of a small child without their wings, black and red and blue and yellow. As they went on, Ralph quickly grabbed his Pokedex and pointed it at them. Once again, the machine's description was quick and efficient. 

_Beautifly_ _. The Butterfly Pokémon. One of two final forms of the_ _Wurmple_ _evolution line._ _Beautifly's_ _favorite food is the_ _sweet_ _pollen of_ _flowers. If you want to_ _see this Pokémon, just leave a potted plant by the window._ _Beautifly_ _is sure to come looking for pollen._  

Ralph looked up from his Pokedex just in time to see the Beautifly leisurely flutter on westward beyond the horizon. He almost felt sad watching them go, continuing to look the way they had gone even as he put his Pokedex back in his jacket. "I know what that feeling's like, buddy," Brendan said, chuckling a little at Ralph's expression. "Watching them kinda makes you feel all warm and then not once they're gone.” Ralph mumbled something inaudible, still watching the sky. Concerned, Brendan waved his hand in front of his face. “Hello? Earth to Ralph?”

Ralph jerked back to reality, shaking off his dream-like state. “What? Sorry, I got lost in my own head for moment.”

“It’s nothing,” Brendan said, putting his hands in his pocket. “So! Petalburg City’s not that far from here. Norman’s your dad and the new Gym Leader there, right?” he asked May.

“Yeah. I don’t know if he’ll be too busy to receive us, though. Plus, he probably still thinks we’re still moving into the new house in Littleroot Town,” May said with a shrug. “Why do you ask?”

“Oh, it’s nothing. I was just thinking of taking him on once my Pokémon got stronger is all,” Brendan said. “Guess I’ll be seeing you guys, then!” And just like that, Brendan was headed down the road once again.

“You know, I may not always show it, but sometimes I have to wonder what is up with that kid most days,” Ralph mused dryly.

“I’m sure you do,” May said. “Now come on. Let’s get to the Pokemon Gym and I’ll introduce you to my dad.”

* * *

Petalburg City was an average-sized city, situated just off Hoenn’s west coast. It was one of eight cities that boasted a Pokémon Gym, which could be thought as the milestones of a Trainer’s progress through the Pokémon League. Surprisingly, Petalburg’s Gym was not the first Gym Trainers typically challenged, that honor went to Rustboro City further north, and considering there really wasn’t much else to do in town except to use it as a staging point for exploring Petalburg Woods further down Route 104 to the west.

“Finally! Petalburg City!” May said happily. “What do you think, Ralph? Pretty big?”

“Compared to Littleroot Town and Oldale Town? …well, yeah, but compared to most other _cities_ I’ve visited this is actually pretty small,” Ralph said with a shrug. Petalburg City felt more like one of the bigger cities in the vicinity of his hometown; bigger than where he lived, certainly, but not really all that big compared to the metropolitan centers of the region. Again, it gave Ralph a sense of being in Lilliput, where everything around him seemed so small.

There was really not much of a need to visit the Pokémon Center, as Ralph and May had used more of the Potions he’d gotten from the Poké Mart clerk in Oldale Town, so they instead followed the main street into the center of town, then made their way north where a large building with a yellow roof was stationed back against the trees. This was obviously the Pokémon Gym, and the Gym Leader that Ralph assumed was also May’s father, as Brendan described…was actually right outside.

Ralph was actually rather surprised at how…plain he seemed to look. He had black hair neatly combed, and was dressed in maroon athletic clothes a white shirt with a whistle dangling across his neck, and a pair of simple black sandals. Currently, he was talking with another Trainer, apparently having finished whatever battle they had had outside. “Not bad. It was a good battle. Come back and challenge me any time. I look forward to seeing you and your Pokémon when you’re stronger.”

“Yes, sir! Thank you sir!” the Trainer, probably a kid not much older than 12, nodded profusely. “I’m gonna do some special training with my Pokémon and challenge this Gym again! Thank you, Mr. Norman!” With that, the Trainer left, allowing May to go over to him.

“Dad!”

“Hm?” Norman looked up right as May glomped him. “Why, if it isn’t May! Are you finished moving in?”

“Well…about that,” May replied, motioning for Ralph to join them. “This is Ralph. He’s a new friend of mine from Littleroot Town.”

“How do you do, sir?” Ralph nodded, putting on his best manners.

Norman looked from May to Ralph, and then spoke. “I see…I guess we shouldn’t stand around out here talking. We can talk in the Gym.” Norman led the way into the building behind them, through the doors into a room that looked very much like a Japanese dojo that Ralph had seen in pictures back home, with hardwood walls and roof and a raised floor with thatch mats laid out. Was this a design Norman specifically asked for, or was it the way it was supposed to be when Norman inherited it? Ralph almost wished he still had a copy of the League rules to check. “You know, I was surprised you managed to get here, even with your friend to keep you company."

“Well, Ralph’s not the only friend I’ve made since I came here,” May said, holding up Treecko’s Poké Ball.

“You actually got a Pokémon…” Norman breathed, eyes widening, but the smile of pride on his face said it all. “So this actually means you’ll become a Trainer like me?”

“That or a Coordinator like Mom. Still haven’t decided, really.”

“Well, regardless of what you choose, I’m looking forward to see where you go on your journey,” said Norman, beaming like the sun.

The door behind them opened, and a small voice wafted into the room. “U-um…excuse me…I’d…I’d like to get a Pokémon, please…”

Ralph and May turned around the speaker entered the room. He was a short, pale, stick of a kid with short green hair. He was dressed in a large steel blue jacket that probably a size too big for him, similarly colored plants, and white and blue sneakers. He coughed a little, and Ralph was suddenly struck with the memory of one of his sisters, almost in the way he seemed to hunch over. There was a good chance, at least in Ralph’s mind, that this kid was sick, but with what, he couldn’t tell.

“Oh, I know you. You’re Wally, right? You’re from the house next door,” Norman said.

“Y-yes…I’m supposed to go live with my relatives in Verdanturf Town for a while. “But I thought I might be lonely by myself, so I wanted to bring a Pokémon with me. But I’ve never caught a Pokémon by myself…I’m not sure if I can.”

Norman closed his eyes, thinking about the situation for only a moment. “Alright then. May, Ralph, you heard all that, right? You two should go with Wally and make sure he safely catches a Pokémon. Here, Wally. You can use this Zigzagoon to help you,” he placed a Poké Ball in Wally’s hands and then added a second smaller one. “And take this Poké Ball. Give it your best, okay?”

“Thank you, Mr. Norman!” Wally said before turning to Ralph and May. “Ralph…May…you’ll…you’ll come with me, right?”

Ralph chuckled, ruffling Wally’s hair. Somehow, his entire hand seemed to be bigger than the top of his skull. “Don’t worry about it. We’ll make sure you're a-okay.”

* * *

Wally led the way back out onto Route 102, with Ralph right behind him and May behind them both, Simurgh trudging along next to Ralph. Wally was a little intimidated by Ralph’s height, as he was just a head taller than Ralph’s waist. To his credit, Ralph wanted to make to make Wally less uncomfortable, but it seemed like neither party was entirely sure of how to proceed, so they were silent until Wally came to a halt in front of a patch of tall grass.

“Ralph, May…Pokémon hide in tall grass like this, don’t they?” Wally asked. “P-please stay there to watch and see if I can catch one properly…”

“Take your time, buddy,” Ralph said. May proceeded to nudge him lightly in the ribs. “…what?”

Wally slowly weaved through the grass, checking each of the tufts, before finally stopping short and giving a breathy sound of surprise. Ralph and May shared a look and then sneaked into the grass with him. There in the grass was a humanoid Pokémon in a white robe, with a green dome on top of its head and two horns sticking out from underneath. Ralph quickly pulled out his Pokédex and let it do the rest.

_Ralts. The Feeling Pokémon. Ralts senses the emotions of people using the horns on its head. This Pokémon rarely appears before people. But when it does, it draws closer if it senses that the person has a positive disposition._

The Ralts looked up, seeing Wally’s face. The Ralts didn’t run, instead just continuing to watch him and see what Wally did. Wally decided to take the opportunity and call out Zigzagoon. “Zigzagoon, go!” a raccoon-like Pokémon with scraggly white and brown fur shaped like zig-zag stripes came out, growling cutely.

_Zigzagoon. The Tiny Raccoon Pokémon. Zigzagoon restlessly wanders everywhere at all times. This Pokémon does so because it is very curious. It becomes interested in anything that it happens to see._

“Okay! I found a Pokémon! What do I do…?” Wally asked.

“Just relax, Wally. You can do this,” May murmured. “Catching a Pokémon is easy. Just have Zigzagoon attack it a couple of times, but don’t go overboard with it. We don’t want to scare it off.”

“Okay. Zigzagoon! Use Tackle!” Zigzagoon charged in a serpentine fashion before launching itself headlong at the Ralts, striking with a body blow. The Ralts gave off a Growl, trying to ward off the Zigzagoon, but Zigzagoon used another Tackle, smacking it right across the head. “That’s good enough!” Zigzagoon obeyed, returning its original position in front of Wally.

“Now, take the Poké Ball and throw it front-first at the Ralts,” May said.

“…that’s it?” asked Wally.

“That’s all. Go for it!”

Wally nodded, taking the smaller Poké Ball in his hand and threw it at the Ralts. “Poké Ball, go!” The ball soared through the hair and bounced off the Ralts. A bright red light came down on the Ralts and drew it inside. The ball twitched once…twice…thrice…and then fell silent with a slight “ding!”

“Congrats, Wally. You caught a Ralts!” said May.

“I…I did it! I caught my own Pokémon!” Wally cheered, quickly snatching the Poké Ball of the ground. “Thanks so much, guys! Let’s head back to the Gym!”

“…actually, you go on ahead. I’m going to stick around and see if I can’t go find some Pokémon of my own to catch,” Ralph said.

“Ralph, are you sure?” May asked, looking more concerned than Ralph thought she would be. “Not that I don’t want to tell you not to, but…”

“I won’t be long,” Ralph said firmly. “Trust me.”

May fell silent. She really didn’t want to send Ralph on his own, inexperienced as he was, but it would be a good opportunity to at least let him have the space to explore on his own. Besides, someone had to make sure Wally got back to Petalburg City in one piece. “Okay, you win. But don’t push yourself too hard.”

“Gotcha.”

“Now then,” May said, stepping aside for Wally to take the lead back to town again. “Shall we go, Mr. Pokémon Trainer?”

Wally and May went back the way they came back to Petalburg City, leaving Ralph and Simurgh alone on Route 102. “So…” Ralph grinned, clapping his hands once as he looked down at Simurgh. “What say you and I go find a Ralts of our own, buddy?”

“Chic…” Simurgh said. Of course, the Torchic was not quite so thrilled at the prospect.

* * *

Wally and May made it back to Petalburg City in good time, right as the sun was starting to set on the distant shores of Route 104, and Norman was waiting for them in the Gym. “So, how did it go?”

“Yes it did! Thank you!” said Wally, brimming with energy. “Here’s your Zigzagoon back.” Wally gave Norman the borrowed Pokémon and placed his Ralts in the messenger bag he was carrying on him. “And May, thank you for being there with me. Be sure to thank Ralph when he gets back, too. Because thanks to you two, I was able to catch my own Ralts…”

“Of course,” May said. She was more preoccupied with Ralph on his quest to find a Pokémon to catch, but Wally didn’t seem to notice, as something started ringing. Wally dug into his pocket and brought out his Pokégear to find a text message waiting for him.

“Okay, my mom’s waiting for me. I’d better get going. I hope we’ll meet again, May! You too, Mr. Norman!” With that, Wally ran off through the doors of the Gym and out of sight.

“Good kid,” May observed. “How’d you meet him, Dad?”

“Well, as it turns out he was one of the first people who came to watch me when I started taking challengers here in the Gym. He’s always been a lonely kid because of his illness, but he likes Pokémon, so I let him watch me take on challengers here. His father wanted to do something special for him before he left for Verdanturf Town, so he approached me earlier this week and we came to the arrangement that we did.”

“So that’s why you sent me and Ralph with Wally to go catch his Ralts,” May realized.

“Well, actually, I was going to go catch it myself, but then you showed up and I figured I’d change things up,” Norman grinned. “Clever, isn’t it?” his face then became serious. “Now, May. I know you haven’t decided on your path with Pokémon yet, but if I were you, I’d go north on Route 104 to Rustboro City and challenge the Gym Leader there, Roxanne. Hopefully, that’ll make your path clearer.”

“Sounds like you’re trying to push me towards being a Trainer, Dad,” May said cheekily.

“Who said I was?” Norman said innocently. “Where’s your friend, what’s his name, Ralph?”

“Actually he’s out on Route 102, trying to catch some Pokémon of his own,” said May. “I was going to check on him before he got himself hurt or lost or something.”

Norman tilted his head. “Is he also a new Trainer?”

“Something like that,” May said, quickly adjusting her bag before she made her way to the door. “We’ll be at the Pokémon Center if you want to meet Ralph properly, Dad!”

As May left, Norman sighed, looking up at the ceiling, a knowing smile on his face. “Son of a Granbull, she really is my kid…”

* * *

Ralph was steadily getting frustrated. If Ralts were any rarer in this area, they’d be raw. He’d been at this for more than an hour, the sun was steadily setting behind him, and he’d explored every patch of grass on the route in search of another Ralts, but he’d found three Wurmples, two Zigzagoons, two Surskits, and a Seedot, but no Ralts. “What do you think, Simurgh, you think we should pack it in?” Simurgh was drinking from the nearby pond to quench its thirst, so it didn’t answer. So, Ralph answered his own question. “Yeah, I think we need to go. May’s worried sick about us, more than likely.”

Simurgh came back up from the water, nodding profusely. “Tor-chic!”

“Yup, you’re done, too, I think. Let’s go back to town.”

Suddenly, he heard a low growling nearby, and it was pretty close. Almost…too close. Ralph slowly reversed himself, and sure enough, yet another Poochyena had snuck up on him, and this one seemed particularly incensed about something. Ralph wasn’t entirely sure what it was at first, but then he noticed something rather familiar about this Poochyena: it looked a lot like the alpha Poochyena that had come after Professor Birch the day before.

“Oh, God. Really? Are you serious?” Ralph asked, eyes flicking skyward for a moment before turning back to the Poochyena clearly out for revenge. “Simurgh. Don’t make any sudden moves. Just keep moving backwards, back out of the grass, and try not to…” He took a few steps back, but then he couldn’t feel the ground on his back foot anymore, and promptly fell down the small ledge he’d just discovered. “SHIT!”

The Poochyena immediately took off running, tackling Simurgh over the ledge as well right into Ralph’s arms before jumping headlong off the ledge itself, going right for the both of them. Ralph wrapped Simurgh in his arms and rolled out of the way, already feeling the Torchic trembling against him. Deterred only for a moment, the Poochyena growled, baring its fangs at Ralph as he put Simurgh off to the side and grabbed the only thing within reach: a fallen branch. The Poochyena pounced on him, and Ralph immediately shoved the branch into the Poochyena’s mouth, trying to keep its fangs away from him. “Simrugh, run!”

However, the Torchic did not run. The Poochyena, sensing this, quickly reared back for another bite on the branch, and to Ralph’s surprise, the branch suddenly began to crystallize with ice and then snapped in two. Ralph could see the Poochyena almost smirk in satisfaction before it lunged for another bite. Ralph raised his arms to protect his face, and immediately felt the Pokémon’s fangs sink into his arm. Ralph roared in pain, trying to shake off his attacker.

“TOR-CHIIC!”

Once again, Simurgh came bounding into the fray, galvanized into action by his injured Trainer. Simurgh jumped on the Poochyena’s back, scratching with its talons and pecking away with its beak. It did the trick, as the two Pokémon tumbled right off of Ralph’s body and began a full-on knock-down-drag-out fight against the Poochyena. And somehow, Simurgh was winning. Nursing his wounded arm, Ralph tossed aside the broken branch and tried to reassert control over the situation. “Simurgh! Ember! Go right for the nose!”

Simurgh responded by firing right at the Poochyena’s snout. The Poochyena gave a yelp, distancing himself from the pair as smoke trailed off its nose. That was all the opportunity Ralph needed to grab one of the empty Poké Balls Brendan had given him and throw it at the Poochyena. It opened and shot Poochyena with a red light, then fell to the ground. The Poké Ball twitched a few times, and then settled down, giving a small “ding!”

“I…I caught it…!” Ralph said, realizing what had just happened. “HA HA! CLICK, CLICK, BOOM! SIMURGH! COME HERE, BIG HERO!”

“Chic?” Simurgh blinked, somehow now coming out of his trance, before Ralph scooped him and spun around.

“Dude, you’re amazing! I didn’t…ah, ow ow ow…” Ralph finally came off the high by the sudden twinge of pain on his arm. Looking down, the Poochyena had drawn a little blood during the scuffle, but it didn’t look too bad, all things considered.

“Ralph?” Ralph looked up from his injury to see May coming towards him, and she noticed his arm. “Arceus, what happened to you?”

“Poochyena happened,” Ralph replied, picking up the Poké Ball from the ground and showng it to her. “Don’t worry, I managed to get him.”

However, May didn’t look too particularly thrilled at Ralph’s accomplishment as she grabbed a towel out of her bag and started wrapping it around Ralph’s arm. “Come on. Let’s get you back to the Pokémon Center.”

* * *

Brendan was quick to show up as well once he got the news as well. “Ralph! You okay?”

Ralph showed his bandaged arm to Brendan. “It still stings, but I’ll live. Nurse Joy says the Poochyena I caught didn’t have any major health issues and the wound was minor.”

Brendan sighed with relief, joining Ralph and May at the table they were currently sitting at, Simurgh and Treecko currently eating dinner at his feet. “That’s good. Where’s this Poochyena now?”

Ralph pointed at the Poké Ball on the table. “We were keeping him in his Ball until you showed up, like May wanted. Personally, I don’t know what the issue is, I’ve caught him and that should be that, right?” Brendan and May shared a look, and already he could feel a lecture coming. “Oh come on…”

“Ralph, an important part of being a Trainer is learning to recognize your limits,” Brendan said, trying to be gentle. “You caught a Poochyena that was attacking you in the heat of battle. That is something. But something you have to also consider is that Pokémon will not automatically obey you even if you catch them. If you’re not skilled enough as a Trainer, your Pokémon won’t listen to you. Worst case scenario, they could even turn on you.”

“It can’t be that bad!” Ralph insisted. “I mean, it’s just a Poochyena! It’s still young enough that I could influence it!”

“It’s also a Poochyena that also knows Ice Fang, a move it can’t learn naturally, and attacked you instead of Simurgh. He bit your arm. You’re lucky he didn’t bite your neck,” May said.

“And that’s an issue how?” Ralph asked grunted, spinning the Poochyena’s Poké Ball on the table

“Well, actually, this is where you get a crash course in Pokémon genetics,” said Brendan. “Professor Elm in Johto discovered several years ago that Pokémon are capable of breeding outside their species. I’ll spare you most of the details, but the part you should know is that Pokémon are capable of learning moves they wouldn’t know naturally assuming either parent knew it. This means that chances are high this Poochyena you caught wasn’t born wild. It was bred in captivity by a Breeder or a Trainer and was released back into the wild.”

Ralph stopped spinning the ball with a finger. “So what’s your point, exactly?”

Brendan groaned, folding his arms as he leaned back in his chair. “Okay, I’ll make it simple. That Poochyena was probably released into the wild because the original people who bred it couldn’t tame it and had to let it go. If the people who bred this Poochyena couldn’t handle it, what makes you think you can?”

Ralph gripped the Poké Ball, for a moment thinking about throwing it at Brendan’s head and letting the Poochyena take over from there. “Shall we put it to the test, then? Get Mudkip out, let’s see if this Poochyena can play nice…!”

“Ralph.” Ralph looked over at May as she cut in on the conversation. His fellow Trainer’s voice was sharp, but her eyes were filled with fear. Looking down, he noticed that his hands were now clenched so tightly he’d drawn just a hint of blood in his palm. Ralph took a deep breath and let go of his hand, grabbed the Poké Ball of the table and his backpack from his feet, and then nudged Simurgh with his foot. The two of them left the Center, headed back outside without so much as a word. May called back Treecko and followed him outside, but he’d already run off.

* * *

Ralph knew better than to go off on his own again after May had to go find him earlier that evening. But quite frankly he didn’t want to be around Brendan and May if they were going to be like this, and now here he was back at Route 102, trying to save.

He’d caught a Pokémon. His first Pokémon and it was the Pokémon that came back for revenge, to boot! He finally had a reason to believe he could actually do this and saw a glimmer of something special in Simurgh that clearly showed his first fight wasn’t a fluke, and already Brendan and May were objecting to his first catch. He hadn’t even brought the thing out and if Nurse Joy had anything to say at the Pokémon Center, she didn’t tell him when he brought Simurgh and the Poochyena back for healing.

“Ralph!” Ralph rolled his eyes as May came to him.

“You stay away from me!” Ralph snapped at her.

“Ralph, please, just listen to me!”

“I’ve heard enough!” Ralph countered. “Just give me some space!”

“You’re in the middle of Route 102 in the middle of the night! Giving you space is begging you to get attacked again!”

“I welcome it, by this point. Maybe this time I could actually catch that Ralts I was looking for and maybe that’ll pass your _stringent_ standards…”

“Ralph, just stop it!”

“NO, YOU STOP IT!” Ralph’s voice actually echoed into the trees, silencing May, his voice rising out of its usual baritone into tenor range. “Don’t you get it? I did something today! I caught a Pokémon, all on my own, and finally I feel like I made some real progress as a Trainer, but now here you are telling me I gotta let this one go!? Where do you get off saying that!?”

“Wait, this is my fault somehow? How is it my fault?” May retorted.

“You’re the daughter of a Gym Leader, May! I’ve seen how you and Treecko fight! You just seem to breeze through this Trainer business like it’s nothing, and that’s only because you’ve been around Pokémon all your life! Not me, though! I literally became a Trainer yesterday morning! Don’t you realize what it is you’re asking me to do?” May had no answer, so Ralph carried on. “You’re telling me I have to throw away my first big achievement as a Trainer because you think I can’t handle it!”

“No I’m not,” May countered, though now her tone was much calmer than before. “Ralph, I know you’ve been struggling as a Trainer. I’m not saying you can’t handle it, I’m saying you’re setting your expectations for yourself a little too high.”

Ralph blinked, the heat in his skin and slight ringing of his ears fading away. “Say what?”

“Ralph, one of the important things about being a Trainer is knowing how to walk away and move on. If I’d gotten overly frustrated whenever my dad lost a battle I’d have gray hairs already. But it’s like Brendan said, and my dad also says all the time: ‘sometimes the best battles are won by knowing where your limits are,’” May explained, taking Ralph’s hand, the one that was still clutching the Poké Ball. “Do you really think you’re going to be able to tame this Poochyena if you’ve already been attacked by it before you even caught it?”

Ralph looked away, trying not to look at May’s face. “…not really. But I’ve never really been a fan of giving up.”

May smiled. “Then don’t think of it as giving up. Think of it as knowing where your limits are. You’ll get better, Ralph, just…give it time.”

Ralph took a deep breath. It made sense. And as much as he really didn’t want to give up, there was no guarantee this wasn’t going to come back and bite him in the ass later. He exhaled, and then tossed the Poké Ball into the open ground in front of him and Simurgh, summoning the Poochyena. The wolf-like Pokemon yawned, waiting for its command.

“Hey, buddy. Listen…” Ralph began, trying to piece the words he really didn’t want to say together. “I…don’t really think this going to work out. Go home to your pack. They need you more than I do.” The Poochyena tilted its head, staying resolutely put. “It’s okay, you can go.” Still it remained. Finally, Ralph clenched his fist and shouted, making a shooing motion with his arms. “Go on, get outta here!” Finally, the Poochyena turned around dashed back into the grass, and was gone before he knew it.

May waited a few minutes as Ralph tried to collect himself before placing a hand on his shoulder. “How do you feel? Better now?”

“…no.”

May smiled before drawing Ralph into a hug. “You may not have the skills of a Trainer yet…but let it not be said you don’t have the heart. Now let’s get back to town before we get jumped by something else.”

Ralph nodded, trying his damnedest not to cry. “Yeah.”

And so they left, unaware of the tall grass parting as a pair of red and yellow eyes watched Ralph and May go back to town.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> On the next chapter of Pokemon Hero: Ralph and May make new friends, and the first enemy reveals himself.


	5. Smooth Criminal

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After the fallout between Ralph, Brendan, and May, the adventure continues into Petalburg Woods, where a mysterious new enemy reveals itself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> LIVE, FROM ANTIOCH, CALIFORNIA, IT'S THE NEW CHAPTER OF POKEMON HERO!
> 
> Anyway, as I said above, I'm currently posting this chapter from my air mattress in my aunt's house in Antioch, which is in the area of San Francisco/Sacramento, and I'll be leaving to go home tomorrow, only to be headed up to Big Bear the day after that, so I figured I'd push this chapter out tonight before I get on the road. Enjoy!

Ralph was awakened early the next morning by Simurgh pecking at his cheek. As Ralph came awake, he ran a hand over the top of Simurgh’s head. He was hoping sleep would’ve put away the horrible feeling of getting rid of the Poochyena, and yet it seemed to hang around his shoulders like a roll of sod fresh of the trailer. He gave Simurgh a wan smile. “Can’t sleep either, big hero?”

“Chic…” Simurgh chirped. The Torchic wasn’t tired, but instead worried, snuggling itself closer to his Trainer.

“Yeah, I’m still torn up about losing him, too,” Ralph mumbled. He was surprised at how warm Simurgh felt when he was this close, no doubt a trait common to other Fire Pokémon. “But May and Brendan were right. We’re not ready for that kind of power yet. One day, though, Simurgh. One day.”

“Chic?” Simurgh turned its head to the bed opposite his, which was empty. Ralph almost gave a funny jolt of surprise, as he was pretty sure that bed had been occupied by Brendan when he’d turned in the night before. This also reminded him of the events of the night before, and especially of how he nearly turned that Poochyena on Brendan in his anger.

Ralph blew out a long sigh. His father had always told him he had two things: an easily-bruised ego and a lot of strength, and his father told him stories of a coworker who was a lot like that, back when he worked in construction. The man would never pick a fistfight with anyone, because he knew he could seriously injure, maybe even kill someone, being as strong as he was. Ralph couldn’t reconcile such a thing in his head. Him? Strong enough to kill? And yet, he was so angry at Brendan he was about to sic a potentially uncontrollable Pokémon at him. An apology was definitely necessary, but apparently he’d already left ahead of him and May and they wouldn’t be able to do so.

“Chic.” Simurgh, sensing his Trainer’s down attitude, used his feet to draw Ralph’s arm up to them, then used its beak to put his hand over him like a blanket. Ralph couldn’t help but chuckle as he drew Simurgh a little closer.

“Yeah, I know, buddy. We’ll stay like this a little more until May comes to ruin our fun and…”

“What’s that about ruining your fun?” Ralph jumped a little, hearing May’s voice waft into the room. The brunette Trainer was leaning against the door. “How am I ruining your fun?”

“Just being here right now,” Ralph grunted.

“Well, you may as well get out of bed, especially if you want to get breakfast ahead of all the other Trainers,” May said.

“Make one more joke about my appetite, May, I dare you,” Ralph growled.

May giggled. “Come on, Ralph. We’ve got a longer leg of the journey today than we’ve been on thus far. If we leave early, we should be able to make it to Rustboro City by tonight.” Ralph groaned, sliding out of bed. He’d seen the map of Hoenn on the wall in the corner of the Pokémon Center and Route 104 was probably longer than Route 102 and Route 101 combined, and May was more than likely right on that score. “Plus, there’s a good opportunity to catch Pokémon in Petalburg Woods.”

“Is that why the route is so long? I thought it was just like Highway 1 back home,” said Ralph. Noticing that May was giving him a questioning look, he explained, “Highway 1 is a road in Northern California that runs along the ocean. I’ve actually been down that road once or twice, it’s really pretty, especially at sunset.”

“I bet,” May quipped. “Now get your clothes on.”

May then left, leaving Ralph and Simurgh alone. Ralph sighed, and then swung himself upright, touching his feet to the stiff carpeted floor. Simurgh jumped off Ralph’s bed, looking up expectantly at him. “Chic?”

“Yeah, I should apologize to May for last night, too,” Ralph said, mostly to himself. “Come on, Simurgh. Let’s get ready for the day.”

* * *

Ralph got dressed and sat down for breakfast with May, his plate stacked high with blueberry muffins, scrambled eggs, and sausage. There were lot more people in the Pokémon Center here in Petalburg City compared to Oldale Town, so Ralph was a bit more self-conscious than he might have been previously. May’s digs at his appetite didn’t help matters, but like all humor, there was definitely some truth to that. Ralph always had had a big appetite compared to his siblings, and his family had a history of health issues, from strokes to cancer and everything in between. But he tried not to dwell too much on it. After all, being on this Pokémon journey meant he’d be a lot more active than he was back home, so it justified the extra calorie intake. He hoped.

“Dad!” Ralph looked up from his scrambled eggs and saw that Norman had come over from the Gym, and it just made Ralph’s self-conscious feelings even worse as May embraced her father. “What are you doing here?”

“I just wanted to see my daughter off when she left,” Norman explained. “Are you heading right into Petalburg Woods after breakfast?”

“That’s the idea. We were going to be loitering around Petalburg Woods in search of Pokémon and hopefully we’ll hit Rustboro City by tonight,” May nodded.

“So, all ahead full all the time, just like your father,” said Norman with a sly grin.

“I guess so,” May returned with a sly grin of her own.

Norman chuckled, but then his face grew serious. “Actually, I just wanted to give you a heads-up before you left. Some of the local Pokémon Rangers have been giving out warnings about Petalburg Woods. A lot of people have been getting lost really easily and have to be rescued, so I want you two to be careful.”

“Oh,” said May, exchanging a look with Ralph. “Do you know what the cause of it all is?”

“Not really,” Norman shook his head. “Just strange noises, similar to laughing children. The Rangers should be checking it out right now, but I wanted you to have fair warning anyway. At the same time,” he added, giving Ralph a rather square look. “I wanted to do something else concerning your friend before we left.”

“Oh?” asked Ralph. “And what’s that?”

Norman simply put a hand on Ralph’s shoulder. It was a simple gesture with no weight, as though he were talking with one of his grandfathers, but Ralph could feel the pressure on his body suddenly increase tenfold as he looked up at Norman to meet his stern, almost dark as the gaze of the snake-like King Minos in his court in Limbo. “Well, I just wanted to let you know that I’ve already become friends with the other Gym Leaders in the region. If any of them tell me you’ve been hurting her in any way, including touching or trying to sleep with my daughter at all, I will send my Vigoroth after you and have him claw out your balls while you’re sleeping.”

May turned as red as her hair bow as she covered her head in her hands. “ _Daaaad!_ ”  

“That’s all I wanted to say. Am I clear, Mr. Wingates?”

“Crystal, sir,” Ralph squeaked.

Norman smiled and removed his hand. “Excellent. Then I wish the two of you luck. Now, I need to get back to the Gym. Bye, kids.” And thus Norman left, leaving a very embarrassed May and a shell-shocked Ralph behind.

* * *

Route 104 was the route running north to south on Hoenn’s west side, cut in half by nearby Petalburg Woods, and so most of the people of Hoenn liked to refer to either side as Route 104 North and Route 104 South. Route 104 South was a coastal road that connected to Route 105, the southbound sea route to Dewford Town. Up the path a few hour’s walk from the start of the route west of Petalburg City was the southern entrance to Petalburg Woods, a section of thick forest that pushed the route away from the sea and more towards the heavy forest areas of northwest Hoenn. Even with the beach and the crystal blue seawater against the shore, there was little to see other than the view, so most Trainers just preferred to be on their way instead of stick around.

However, about twenty minutes down the road, Ralph noticed there was a house at the north end of the beach, a small one that wasn’t any different from the houses in Petalburg City, as he and May traveled north up the route. But this house also had an attached pier with a white boat at anchor there. Curious, Ralph took a left on the road and made his way over. “Who lives here? He’s got a nice house here on the water.” He quickly took a peek through the window, and found the place empty. “Nobody home, though.”  

“Dunno,” May shrugged, joining Ralph at the window. Looking towards the door, she found a small sign at the door read _Harland A. Briney and Peeko._ “Let me ask someone who might.” She pulled out her Pokégear and dialed a number. “Brendan! It’s May! I was wondering if I could ask you something.”

“You have Brendan’s number?” asked Ralph in confusion.

May held up a finger, silencing him. “Yeah, do you know who Mr. Briney is? …oh, that’s it? We found his house on Route 104 South and he’s not home…no, Ralph just was curious about who lived there.” Ralph opened his mouth, trying to say something, but then he closed it, saying nothing even though he had something to say. It was a feeling he was very intimate with. “Okay, thanks.” She hung up, and pocketed her Pokégear. “Brendan said Mr. Briney used to be a sailor who retired recently.”

“Well, I could’ve figured that from the boat at the dock,” Ralph said, jerking his thumb behind him. “Where is Brendan, by the way?”

“I dunno, but he left well ahead of us, so I guess he’s just getting out of Petalburg Woods now and headed onto Route 104 North,” said May. “Come on, we need to get moving if we’re going to get through to Rustboro City by nightfall.”

“How do you know so much about the amount of time travelling will take? You only moved here a few days ago,” Ralph asked, putting his thumbs in his belt loops.

“Remember the map of Hoenn in the Pokémon Center you saw? Well, basically I used Route 101 as my measuring stick. Routes 101 and 102 are all relatively the same length, so both of them would only take a couple of hours to travel,” May explained. “Route 104 North and South are both about twice that length. Add in the amount of travel time needed to go through Petalburg Woods, and I figured we’d be travelling most of the day. That’s why I woke you up so early.”

Ralph pursed his lips, going over the information. “Okay, color me impressed.”

“I’m surprised you didn’t figure that out yourself,” said May, starting back up the road.

“I’ve never really been the planning type,” Ralph shrugged. “In fact, the men don’t plan anything in the Wingates family house. My mother runs everything.”

“Then how do you get anything done?”

“Typically you run it by her first, but me, I like being able to handle things on my own. Life’s more fun when you’ve got freedom to do what you want.”

“Is that right? Then what, exactly, do you want to do, Mister Wingates?” asked May, a cheeky grin forming on her face.

Ralph opened his mouth again, and again found himself without anything to say. For about ten minutes they stood there, Ralph’s eyes going left to right as he tried to consider the answer to such a simple question, and yet nothing really came to mind. After a while, May shrugged and started her way back up the route. “Well, I am on my way back on the road to Petalburg Woods. You wanna come with?”

Ralph sighed, somehow defeated by his own brain, and readjusted his backpack. “Sure.”

* * *

Petalburg Woods was a stretch of forest that was considered the first major test for aspiring trainers. The trees were tall with thick foliage, sunlight peeking through the branches to light the path that wound through the grass. It was significantly cooler here than it was on the other routes, and the wind through the trees seemed to breathe life into them, even though they continued to be remain rooted to the spot.

Most of this was lost on Ralph, too focused on not arriving on a decision earlier. He hated that feeling, the feeling of being presented with choices and somehow never having enough time in the world to arrive at a decision. Even going out to eat he could be stuck for fifteen minutes making a decision if he was left to his own devices. As much as he wanted to believe May’s words about setting his expectations a little too high, he was still frustrated that he could barely arrive at any decisions. In fact, he’d almost think Simurgh’s recent struggles weren’t because of whatever demons he may have had, but more in the fact that Simurgh mirrored his Trainer’s trepidation and indecisiveness.

Or maybe he was just fooling himself.

Maybe it’s time for a change, Ralph mused. Throw it on the top of the pile of other things he needed to think about.

“Well…here we are,” said May. “What do you think?”

“It’s everything I hoped for,” Ralph snarked.

“You okay, Ralph?” May asked, turning to her friend. “You look lost and we even haven’t entered the forest proper.”

“More like lost in my own head, but it’s nothing,” said Ralph, waving it off. “So what’s the game plan? Just a straight shot?”

“Well, there are Pokémon we can catch here. There’s lots of tall grass here, you’re bound to find something…” May suddenly stopped, trying to spot something in the trees that Ralph couldn’t see.

“Something up?”

“I thought I heard something…sounded like little kids somewhere.”

“Are little kids allowed to be in Petalburg Woods? ‘cause this is a real good place to get lost…” Ralph said, trying to hear what May had heard through the whispering branches and grasses, but there was nothing to hear.

“No way, Petalburg Woods is too far away from town and I didn’t see any other houses on the route…” Ralph didn’t hear the rest of May’s sentences, because suddenly, between the shifting plant life around them, Ralph could hear it: the sound of children, laughing in some distant corner of the woods. He quickly touched May’s arm and pointed, the sound apparently having come from the trees beyond the path as it shifted off the left and out of sight. “You heard it, too?”

“Can’t be that far away,” Ralph nodded, starting towards the source. “You stay here, I’m gonna go check it out.”

“Wait!” May grabbed his arm, stopping him from going any further. “Remember what Dad said about the people who’ve been gone missing here and needed to be rescued by Pokémon Rangers? Maybe that’s what they heard!”

“And how can you be sure?” Ralph countered. “If those kids aren’t supposed to be out this far, there’s a good chance they’ll get lost anyway, I may as well check it out and keep an eye on them to make sure they’re okay.”

“And what if you get attacked!?”

“I have Simurgh, don’t I? Look, I’m just gonna head off into the trees, I’ll mark my passage every once in a while, and I’ll use that to backtrack once I’m done, okay?”

“At least let me go with you if you’re going to be stupid!”

“If we both go and get lost, that helps nobody. I need you to stay on the path in case something does happen. If I’m not back in, say, an hour, turn back to Petalburg City and send for help.”

“But-“

“I won’t be long,” Ralph interjected, trying to put some force into his words.

May stared hard into Ralph’s eyes, and suddenly found there was a hardness in them she hadn’t seen before. It was anger like from the night before, but more like a sense of wanting. She did feel kind of bad for not letting Ralph pursue his own way earlier, but it was too dangerous for Ralph to be heading into the deep forest all by himself. In the end, guilt won out over worry, and she let go of him. “Okay. One hour, and that’s it. And expect me to smack you once they haul you out.”

“Fair enough,” Ralph shrugged. He cracked his knuckles, and then motioned with his head. “Let’s go, Simurgh.”

“Chic…” Simurgh quickly followed Ralph into the trees, staying as close to his trainer as much as it were physically able.

May watched him go, worry now beating out guilt almost two-fold once he vanished from sight. She turned around, looking at the paths around her into the trees. “…you better come back, Ralph.”

* * *

Ralph and Simurgh slowly went through the forest, his earlier willpower having long since left him. He knew he should've listened to May's warnings, but again, his issues with May and Brendan from the night before had pushed him into making this decision over her objections, and now he was pretty sure he was lost. He'd taken the survival knife he'd bought and marked the nearby trees on his path to at least mark his progress, but everything was devolving into a blob of green, light green, dark green, and white and bright yellow sunlight poking through the forest canopy he was certain he was going to go blind from sensory input alone.  

Then the laughing sound started again, so close as to be right over his shoulder. Ralph whirled, keeping his knife up like he'd learned in one of a handful of self-defense classes, but there was nobody behind him, and he wasn't sure if he'd accidentally kicked Simurgh away, because he was gone from his sight as well and wait why was that stump so close to his face HOLY SHIT INCOMING FIREBALL 

"JEEZUS!" Ralph stumbled back as Simurgh's Ember attack soared in the empty space his head was a few seconds before. "Simurgh, what the fuck was-oh..." His angry rant was shoved right back into his gullet when he saw just what the stump was. It was, in fact, another Pokémon, a black Casper-like ghost with a head that looked like the stump he'd seen creeping up in his vision, with two red eyes in the eye holes. It gave a chittering sound almost like a giggle, apparently quite pleased with giving Ralph a scare. "Okay, who are you?" he mumbled, grabbing his Pokedex and holding it out. 

 _Phantump_ _._ _The Stump Pokémon._ _These Pokémon are created when_ _spirits possess rotted tree stumps._ _They_ _prefer to live in abandoned forests._  

"Abandoned forests? This forest is anything BUT abandoned, it's the only path north to Rustboro City..." Ralph said, thumbing through the additional info on the screen. "Wait...Phantump are native to Kalos? You're a long way from home, aren't you?"

The Phantump didn't reply, instead floating down to Simurgh. The Torchic was not hiding behind Ralph's leg like he usually was, instead going to meet the Phantump, only to get tweaked across the beak Three Stooges-style. In reply, Simurgh exhaled another Ember, this one so hot it actually left a black mark in the center of Phantump's forehead and thusly kicked off a brawl in the middle of the forest, claws and ghost hands and fireballs flying everywhere. 

"Simurgh! For God's sake, get a hold of yourself!" Ralph shouted, trying to reestablish control of his Pokémon, but somehow Simurgh was past listening to him, still trying to get at the Phantump for its sleight against him. That gave Ralph an idea. "Simurgh, Ember! Get some distance!" Simurgh obeyed this time, exhaling a third Ember right into the Phantump's body. This forced the ghostly Pokémon backwards, smoke somehow trailing off its body, and Ralph quickly produced another empty Poke Ball. "Poke Ball, go!" 

The ball sailed across the clearing, hit Phantump on the head, and drew it inside in a flash of red light. Twitch...twitch...twitch...ding! 

"He shoots and scores! Ralph Wingates, top shelf where momma hides the homemade fudge!" Ralph pumped a fist. "Way to go, Simurgh, that was great!"  

Simurgh coughed a little, covered in abrasions from the melee, and looked up at Ralph, apparently unaware of the berserker state he’d been in once again. “Chic?”

Ralph motioned him over, pulling out one of the few Potions he had left. As he sprayed its contents on Simurgh’s wounds, he noticed the trees were now back in focus and everything seemed to be back to normal. Apparently that Phantump had managed to whack him with something when he wasn’t looking to help facilitate his tricks and catching it had shut down the effects, but there was still no sense of where anything really was. “Simurgh, do you remember where the last tree we marked is?”

“Torchic!” Simurgh quickly scurried across the clearing to a tree, then looked up the tree to find it untouched. It ran around the tree, trying to make sure where it was, but then came back with nothing to show for it. “Chic…?”

“Yeah, I don’t either…” Ralph groaned. “Oh, man, May is going to kill me…” Then, he suddenly had a thought. It this Phantump had been in this forest, it also stood to reason he also knew this forest a lot better than the both of them. “…but, maybe we can get help from someone who can show a better way…” he said, lobbing the Phantump’s Poké Ball into the air.

* * *

May was now at least seventy percent convinced Ralph was turning her into a worrywart. The incident with the Poochyena could be construed as overstepping her bounds as far as Trainers go, but at least in that case Ralph still came to the decision to let it go on his own. Ralph going wandering off the beaten path into a foreign forest with just a Torchic with cowardice issues was something else entirely. As much as she wanted to give Ralph space, she was still kicking herself for not stopping him, and distracting herself by battling the local bug catchers and going after a Taillow she'd come across in the tall grass wasn't exactly helping. 

"Treecko, Quick Attack!" Treecko zipped this way and that, a blur of yellow-green as it struck the Taillow with its feet. The Taillow was unable to get away from the Wood Gecko Pokémon's assault and flopped to the ground, flapping its wings erratically. That was her cue, as she grabbed an empty Poke Ball and lobbed it at the bird. "Poke Ball, go!" The ball bounced off the Taillow's head and drew it inside. It twitched three times, and then fell to the side with a "ding!"  

"Woohoo!" May quickly scooped the Poke Ball of the ground. "Finally got my first catch. Way to go, Treecko!" 

Treecko folded its arms the only way a confident Pokémon would, nodding in an "uh-huh-I-got-this" kind of way. "Treecko." May took the opportunity to quickly treat Treecko with one of her remaining Potions, looking around for any sign of Ralph returning. Ralph was still nowhere to be seen. She checked her Pokegear. He'd been gone about twenty minutes. Now the worry was starting to turn into real fear. What if Ralph had gotten hurt and wouldn't be able make it back? Should she go after him herself? No, Ralph was at least correct in that she couldn't risk herself only to end up having two more people needing to be rescued as opposed to one. This kind of impression was not going to sit well with her dad or Professor Birch, that was for damn sure... 

"Hmm...not a one to be found..." May was brought back from her internal turmoil by the sound of another person nearby. It wasn't Ralph, but instead a bespectacled man in a lab coat, very much out of place compared to the Trainers had that passed by her the path. The man looked over and saw May with Treecko, and promptly went over to her. "Excuse me, but have you seen any Pokémon called Shroomish around here? I really like that Pokémon." 

"Shroomish? Maybe, I thought I saw some back that way, but..." Suddenly, Treecko tapped May's leg a couple of times, then took a defensive stance in front of her and the man. "Treecko? What is it?" Looking further up the path where Treecko was looking, another figure was headed towards them. He was a tanned individual, his hair hidden under a blue bandana with a stylized letter A on it, and was clad in a striped shirt and gray pants with a black sash. Already, May's brain was throwing up red flags at the man, and it wasn't just because of his rather poor fashion sense. 

"I was going to ambush you, but you just had to dawdle in Petalburg Woods forever, didn't you!?" the man growled. "I got sick of waiting, so here I am!" He quickly lunged at the scientist, who promptly hid behind May and Treecko. "You! Devon researcher! Hand over those papers!" 

"You're a Pokémon Trainer, aren't you? You have to help me, please!" the scientist pleaded behind May.  

"Wait, what is even going on!?" May asked. This was all happening way too fast, and now the pirate guy was pulling out a Poke Ball. 

"What, are you gonna protect him? No one gets any mercy from Team Aqua, not even a girl! Come on and battle me!" he said, throwing the ball into the path. "Poochyena, go!" another Poochyena appeared, growling at May. 

"Ugh...well, a battle it is. Go get 'em, Treecko! Quick Attack!" Treecko took off at May's command, zipping left to right like he did against the Taillow before landing a kick against the Poochyena. The two Pokémon clashed again and again, but Treecko was far too quick for the Poochyena to chase after.  

"Poochyena, use Bite! Don't let that thing get away!" As Treecko came for another Quick Attack, Poochyena lunged, finally pinning the speedy lizard to the ground and shot its head down, chomping at Treecko's head as Treecko struggled to hold it back. 

"Treecko, use Absorb!" At once, Treecko grabbed the Poochyena's head as it came down to bite again. This time the Bite connected, fangs going right into Treecko's neck, but the injury was not even close to dangerous as green energy swirled around Treecko's paws, draining away the Poochyena's stamina. The damage healed over even quicker, and Treecko took the opportunity to shoot its tongue out right at the Poochyena's eye. Yipping in pain, the Poochyena backed off. "Now, finish it off with Pound!" Treecko obeyed, launching itself into the air like a lizard ninja and smashing its two tails right on the Poochyena's head. The Poochyena whined and fell over, defeated.  

"Grr...you've got some nerve, messing around with Team Aqua! Come on and battle me again!" growled the Team Aqua guy as he called back the KO'd Pokémon. Suddenly, the foliage off the path rustled, and out came Ralph and Simurgh, led by his Phantump. Both Ralph and Simurgh were sporting green streaks, cuts, and bruises from their return trek, but other than that, they looked relatively unharmed.  

"Ralph!"   

"Hey, May," Ralph panted, giving May a tired wave. He noticed the Team Aqua guy on the other side of the path giving him the stink-eye, and his eyes narrowed. "Who's this guy?" 

"Some guy from something called Team Aqua, which I've never heard of," May shrugged.  

"Huh. Doesn't ring a bell with me, either," said Ralph. "But if he's causing you trouble, May, I'll deal with him." 

"Uh, I just realized, I'm out of Pokémon," the Team Aqua guy said quickly. While it was true, he also didn't really want to deal with this giant of a man who'd come bursting in from out of nowhere with two Pokémon even if he did have more. "And hey, we of Team Aqua are after something in Rustboro, too. I'll let you go today!" And thus he ran off, leaving Ralph and May alone.  

"Well. That happened," Ralph said bluntly, watching him. But when he turned around, May was already in front of him.

SMACK.

And his head abruptly turned sideways.

“Ow!” Ralph readjusted his head, touching his now-sore jaw. “What the hell, May!?”

“You idiot! Do you know how long I’ve been worried?” May shouted at him, massaging her aching knuckle.

“I don’t know. It was freckle past a hair when I left,” said Ryan, showing May his wrist.

“Don’t you get coy with me, I’ll tell you how long I was waiting…!” May said, whipping out her Pokégear, and upon checking the clock… “You’re kidding me. That was only 45 minutes!?”

“Well now I’m doubly pissed off,” Ralph grunted. “One for punching me and two for freaking out for no reason. Couldn’t bother to keep checking the time?”

“That’s beside the point! And look at you! You’re a mess! You’re lucky you didn’t break your neck out there!”

“Um, excuse me…” the scientist piped up from behind May.

“WHAT!?” the two of them shouted, rounding on him.

The scientist squeaked a little at the heated reaction, but then quickly composed himself. “Anyway, I just wanted to say thank you. Thanks to your friend here, I wasn’t robbed of these important papers. I know! I’ll give you this as my thanks!” He tossed May a Poké Ball, but this ball was different from the other ones he’d seen. This one’s top half was blue, with two red lines.

“A Great Ball? Thanks!” May said with a little bow, completely dropping her anger with Ralph for the moment.

“…um, not to cut in or anything,” said Ralph. “But didn’t this Team Aqua guy say something about wanting something in Rustboro?”

The man blinked, then suddenly spun around and ran off, finally realizing what the Team Aqua guy meant, whatever it was. “Uh-oh! It’s a crisis! I can’t be wasting time!”

“…and that happened, too. All sorts of weird things happening here,” Ralph observed. “May, do you have any idea who Team Aqua is?”

“Never heard of them. Brendan might know, though…” May flipped open her Pokégear again and dialed a number.

Ralph opened his mouth and closed it, once again wanting to say something but not able to for some reason. However, the Phantump, which May apparently hadn’t noticed, went over to Ralph’s heads and placed its stubby hands…eh, let’s call them appendages…and placed them on either side of Ralph’s head. What came next was an almost surreal experience, as he could see himself and Brendan in the space between him and May, currently walking around for better signal. He couldn’t hear anything, but he could see himself and Brendan talking before exchanging a manly handshake.

And lo, the thing that had been eluding his brain finally dawned on him.

“May, let me talk to Brendan. I need to talk to him about something, anyway.”

May thought about it for a moment, placed the speaker to her ear, and then tossed the Pokégear over to him. “Suit yourself. Come over this way, the signal’s better.”

Ralph went over to May, shooting her a bit of a sideways glance as he did. He was almost convinced she just wanted to eavesdrop on him as revenge for going off on his own earlier and made the part with the signal up, but let it slide in the interest of fairness. The line clicked on. “ _’sup, May?_ ”

“Brendan, you know full well I’m not interested in you,” Ralph cracked.

Brendan actually sputtered on the other side, which only confirmed Ralph’s suspicions that he was trying to act cool for May. “ _Ralph-!? What are you doing with May’s Pokégear?_ ” 

Oh, the things Ralph could do with this… “She’s letting me borrow it for a moment,” he said casually. “But I’ll let you talk to your girlfriend if you answer a question for me.”

“ _She’s not…ugh, just get to the point, Ralph._ ”

“Anyway, we’re here in Petalburg Woods and May just got jumped by a guy from some group called Team Aqua. You know anything about these guys?”

Brendan didn’t actually answer right away. “ _…no, I’ve never heard of anything like that before. Kinda reminds me of Team Rocket in Kanto and Johto…I’m up on Route 104 North right now and I’ll be in Rustboro City in a few minutes. I’ll ask around and see if I come up with anything when you guys come into town._ ”

“Thanks, dude. Also, before I forget…I wanted to say I’m sorry about the Poochyena thing. I was tired and moody and nursing an injured arm, but I never got to apologize before you left ahead of us. So, I just wanted to do it now, in case I forgot about it later.”

Brendan actually chuckled a little. “ _Don’t fret too much over it. Dad says you got a lot of potential, and May and I are always willing to lend a hand. Just ask, okay?_ ”

“Will do. Thanks, buddy.”

“ _See ya in Rustboro._ ”

Ralph hung up, somehow feeling a lot lighter than he had been all day. Then he heard May clear her throat, apparently also wanting a much-warranted apology. So, Ralph placed the Pokégear in her hand and then took her hand in his massive one. “May, I’m sorry for wandering off and making you worry. I just needed some space to think by myself.”

May beamed. “Apology accepted.”

“Besides, it wasn’t all bad. I got myself a new Pokémon to replace the Poochyena from earlier!” Ralph said, jerking his thumb at the Phantump poking out from behind him. The ghostly Pokémon gave a friendly wave, but May was already having a reaction that clearly did not bode well. And it wasn’t that kind of trepidation like she and Brendan had with the Poochyena. It was out-and-out fear. “…May?”

“W-w-w-w-what the hell is _that!?_ ” she screamed.

* * *

“ _…_ this is the Petalburg recon team checking in. I’m afraid I have to begin with an apology, Mr. Matt…the mission is a no-go.”

“ _Tch…well, that’s a shame. Those papers were supposed to hold a major clue. What happened? Could you tell from your position?_ ”

A female Team Aqua member, with red eyes and jet black hair sticking out from under her bandanna, shook her head as she clicked her radio. “Yeah, a little something cropped up and got in the way, and our forward strike team couldn’t hack it. The researcher’s already on his way onto Route 104 North.”

“ _Well, we have a contender, then. No matter. We have other agents in Rustboro who could handle him a lot better, anyway. Meanwhile, Z, I want you to head out to your next mission assignment. Set up an observation post at Granite Cave, it’s on Route 105 north of Dewford Town. It’s a bit out of the way, so…_ ”

“Roger that. I know where that is, sir.”

“ _Ah. Good on ya, then. I expect you to report in about three days from now ready for your next assignment. I’ll tell you more then._ ”

“Got it. Will do.”

“ _Excellent. Matt out._ ”

Her report complete, the member threw off her bandana and replaced it with a gray and dark green shroud, making her way east down the hidden path out of Petalburg Woods. “Phew! I gotta say, though, those two have a lot of potential as Trainers. Wouldn’t you say, Aster?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, this chapter also experienced some heavy delays, and I'm not just talking about school. School ended a couple of weeks ago, but now I've got all of July and August all to myself before I start the cycle all over again in September. This time, though, I actually get to come home at a decent hour, so maybe the delays with the next chapter won't be as bad. *fingers crossed*
> 
> Anyway, Rustboro City is the next chapter, and Ralph and May face their first serious challenge as Trainers!


	6. I Love Rock And Roll

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ralph and May reach Rustboro City, and the first major test of Ralph's Trainer skills.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy belated Thanksgiving, everyone! 
> 
> I had originally meant to post it before Thanksgiving, especially seeing as I've got a buttload of essays to write for my classes to end the quarter. But, it was not to be. So, I decided I'd do it AFTER Thanksgiving so everyone could enjoy the holiday. 
> 
> Anyway, let's get on with the fun!

Rustboro City was one of the major metropolitan areas of Hoenn, and the only one on the west side of the continent. Nestled on the northwest coast of Hoenn at the crossroads of Route 104 North to the south, Route 116 to the east, and Route 115 to the north, Rustboro City was the first big stop on the Pokémon Trainer’s journey. Not only did out house the first Gym, it was also home to Devon Corporation, the business conglomerate that handled production of everything a Trainer would need on their journey, and whenever a new piece of technology was produced, Trainers flocked to Rustboro City to be first in line.   

Ralph could only stare in awe as he and May stepped off the dirt path of Route 104 North and across the threshold of the city limits. It was like stepping from a farm town into Silicon Valley, especially with the massive skyscraper looming over the houses and apartment buildings in the northwest corner of town. And because it was almost nighttime when they arrived, with the oranges and reds of twilight replaced by indigos and purples, Ralph could pick out individual offices lit up against the dark backdrop.   

“How about it, May? Rustboro City!” Ralph said, stretching out his back. “And it only took us all day to walk here. I don’t know about you, but I could do with a hot meal and a soft bed.”  

“I guess,” May said, walking on ahead. Ralph wasn’t entirely sure what was up with her, she’d been acting all weird since he introduced his Phantump to her. Anyway, as they made their way up the main street, the door to the PokéMart opened and out stepped Brendan. “Brendan!”  

“Hey, guys. Nice to see you made it to Rustboro City too, finally,” Brendan nodded, making his way over to them. “This place is huge, though! Not like Littleroot Town at all.”  

“I’ll say,” Ralph said, looking around at the many buildings up and down the streets, lit by streetlamps ever so often. “I’ve always kinda liked being in a big city like this. You feel more in tune with people around you than you would be in a small town.”  

“Whatever you say, man,” Brendan shrugged. “So, I assume you’re all here because you want to challenge Roxanne?”  

“Roxanne?” Ralph asked.   

“What, you forgot how the Pokémon League works already, Ralph?” Brendan joked. “I know you still keep a copy of the League rules and regulations in your backpack.”  

“What? I do not,” Ralph said, pointedly trying to not think about the laminated binder he had in his backpack that was, in fact, a binder of the updated rules for that year that he'd taken out back when they were in Petalburg City.   

“Well, here’s the deal, in case you forgot,” said Brendan. “Thoughihardlydoubtit…” he added behind a coughing fit.  

“Get to the point, Mister Chuckles,” Ralph said flatly.   

“Okay, okay. In designated cities of every region, there are a number of Pokémon Gyms. Usually there’s eight, although some regions like the Orange Islands are so small they only have four. Anyway, every Gym is run by the Gym Leader, and Trainers will challenge them to earn their Gym Badge. Now, Badges are especially important for Trainers. They not only are a mark of respect among other Trainers, but among Pokémon, too. The more Gym Badges you have, the more likely they are to obey you.”   

“That’s interesting. The rules never mentioned anything about that…” Ralph mused.  

Brendan grinned, but decided not to call Ralph out on his slip of the tongue. “Anyway, if you travel around Hoenn and get all eight Gym Badges, then you can participate in the Pokémon League at the end of the year in Ever Grande City, where you go against all the other Trainers who made it there, as well as the toughest trainers of the region: the Elite Four. You make it past the Elite Four, you earn the right to challenge the Pokémon League Champion for his title. After that, you get three months for the offseason to take a load off and then it’s back to the grind.”  

“And you do this every year?” Ralph asked. “That’s gotta be a whole lotta headaches to have re-earn those badges and ditch your team every year…”  

“Nah, that’s only if you ever leave the region and go to another one, which is what some Trainers will do if they feel like they’re not successful. You get to keep your badges and your team if you stay. Think of it as less of a license and more as a mark of mastery,” Brendan shook his head.  

“Oh, thank God,” Ralph sighed. “I’m kind of attached to Simurgh, if I haven’t made that clear.”  

“May’s right: you do wear your heart on your sleeve,” said Brendan with a sly grin.  

“Right, so what exactly were you doing here in town? Trying to get a head start on your Gym Badges already?” Ralph asked, quickly transitioning to a different subject.  

“Well there was that, and also checking out the new product lineup from Devon Corporation, seeing what’s up at the Pokémon Trainer’s School,” Brendan said, counting off his fingers. “And doing more information-gathering on those Team Aqua guys you tangled with in Petalburg Forest.”  

“And how did that turn out?” May asked.  

“Most of the people I talked to said they had no idea. Officer Jenny took my statement and went off somewhere, and didn’t answer any of my questions after that,” said Brendan. “The only other trick I got is asking my dad, but I figured I’d do all the shopping I’d been putting off and tackling that tomorrow morning, at least.”   

“Best idea ever, in my opinion,” Ralph said. “I need to heal Simurgh and Fiddlesticks, I itch from all the leaves and tall grass I was walking through, my feet feel like they’ve been petrified, and the only time my legs have been this sore is when I used to walk the dogs. Never in my whole  _life_  has been so attached to the idea of sleep.”  

“Fiddlesticks?” asked Brendan, raising an eyebrow. “Did you catch another Pokémon in Petalburg Woods?”  

“Yeah, I did,” Ralph said, pulling out his Phantump’s Poké Ball. “And I think this might explain a few things-“  

“Yeah, I’m just gonna run on ahead to the Pokémon Center,” May said hurriedly, already starting down the street. “Kay, thanks, bye!”  

“…what’s up with her?” asked Brendan, watching May leave.   

“I dunno. I showed her Fiddlesticks after the Team Aqua incident and she had a freak-out of Mt. Vesuvius proportions,” said Ralph with a shrug. “Anyway, this is Fiddlesticks. Come on out!” He flicked the Poké Ball into the air, summoning the ghostly Pokémon in front of him. Phantump, now named Fiddlesticks, lifted up into the air and gave Brendan a wave.  

Brendan leaned forward, intrigued by his friend’s new team member. “You actually found a Phantump in Petalburg Woods? That’s one heck of a find, Ralph.”  

“Yeah, it turns out this little guy was the reason people were getting lost while passing through the area, at least that’s what I’m willing to guess,” said Ralph, as Fiddlesticks came back to Simurgh, whom Ralph was carrying in his arms, and started playing with Simurgh’s head feathers. Simurgh snapped its beak to ward him off, but it really didn’t do much. “And, well, he’s at least friendly enough. More friendly than that Poochyena, anyway. He probably was abandoned and hid out in Petalburg Woods hoping to find people to play with.”   

“Well, the Pokémon Rangers will be happy, at least,” Brendan said, nodding. “But why call him Fiddlesticks?”  

“Well, back where I come from, there’s a video game that I and a few of my friends play called League of Legends, and one of the characters you can play is Fiddlesticks. He’s basically an animated scarecrow that scares people. It seemed appropriate.”  

“Well, for a Ghost Pokémon, that does seem appropriate,” agreed Brendan. “Come on. We’d better get to the Pokémon Center ourselves.”  

Ralph nodded, returning Fiddlesticks to his Poké Ball and returning it to its place in his backpack. “Yes! Sleep is good! And so is food!”  

* * *

The next morning, Ralph was digging into yet another hearty breakfast. The Pokémon Center in Rustboro City was bigger and much more populated than the ones in Oldale Town or Petalburg City. May had already left to challenge the Gym Leader, and Brendan was currently talking with his father in the hallway nearby. As he bit into another strip of bacon, he could see someone approach Brendan, and he could barely make out a Pokémon at his side, a blue and black quadruped. Brendan hung up his Pokégear, and then they both made their way over to Ralph’s table.  

“Brendan? Who’s this?” asked Ralph, looking at him.  

“I’m Joshua. I’m one of the Pokémon Rangers stationed here in Hoenn,” said the man. He almost looked a bit younger than Ralph and Brendan, with brown hair and dressed in a red, yellow, and black uniform. On the sleeve of his jacket was a gray stripe, marked with a star and the number 3. “And this is my partner Pokémon, Aslan.”   

Ralph looked the Pokémon over. It looked like a blue-furred cat, with two yellow rings around its paws, and a short black mane around its head, and a thin tail with a yellow four-point star on the end. It definitely looked like a lion of some sort.   

“ _Luxio. The Spark Pokémon_.  _The evolved form of Shinx,_ ” his Pokédex informed him. “ _Its claws loose electricity with enough amperage to cause fainting. It rests its forelegs on others to communicate with rhythmic electric pulses from its claws.”_   

“So you’re one of the Pokémon Rangers that Norman mentioned in Petalburg City yesterday?” Ralph observed.  

“Yeah. Pokémon Rangers are kind of like policemen, except they also handle rescue work on the routes and the cities, too, helping civilians, Trainers, and Pokémon in need. There’s three Ranger Bases in Hoenn, and each one patrols a certain part of the region,” Brendan explained. “Joshua here is from the West Hoenn Ranger Base here in Rustboro City, according to my dad.”  

“Interesting. What brings you out here, Joshua?” asked Ralph.  

“Well, according to Brendan and Professor Birch, you and your friend May got into a battle with a member of Team Aqua. First of all, you guys okay?” Joshua began.  

“Yeah. May beat him pretty soundly, or so I heard, but the guy definitely looked like someone you’d rather not meet in a dark alley.”  

Joshua nodded. “That’s good. I hear some pretty nasty things about Team Aqua from some of the guys at Central Base, out near Mauville City.”  

“I’d just like to know who these guys are, honestly,” said Ralph. “Who goes around assaulting random scientists in the middle of the woods for research papers?”  

“Unfortunately, I can’t say much on the subject,” Joshua frowned. “Mostly due to the fact that there are a lot of active investigations involving Team Aqua, and telling you anything could compromise all of them. What I can tell you, though, is that Team Aqua is one of two criminal organizations operating here in Hoenn, and they’re in what I can only assume is a gang war with another group called Team Magma. Most of the action is on the other side of Mt. Chimney, though. The only reason they would be here is if they’re trying to disrupt each other’s operations here in Rustboro City or in other areas like Petalburg City.”  

“But no matter who wins, it’s those who get in the crossfire who lose,” said Brendan distastefully.  

“Sounds delightful,” Ralph quipped.  

“Regardless, I would prefer if you guys try not to tangle with Team Aqua again or Team Magma if you can help it. Beating up one of their grunts tends to earn you a lot of enemies with them,” Joshua said.   

“I’ll take that to heart. Thanks for the heads-up,” Ralph nodded, standing up and extending his hand.  

Joshua took it, standing up as he did. Despite it being gloved, Ralph could tell the Ranger’s hands were quite weathered, reminding him of his grandfather. Aslan, who had been curled at Joshua’s feet, also rose, yawning. “What do you plan to do now?”   

“Well, my friend’s challenging the gym right now, so I figured I’d spend the day going around town,” said Ralph. “Figured my first stop would be the Pokémon Trainer School, as I’ve got a few things I need sorted out of my game first.”  

Joshua nodded. “Tell you what: mention my name and they’ll be more than happy to help you. And if you run into Team Aqua or Magma again against your will, tell me. You’ll find me at the Ranger Base if I’m not on patrol in the city."  

* * *

The Pokémon Trainer's School was a building taking up maybe half a city block on the southwest side of Rustboro City. Many veteran Trainers visited the school to pick up new tactics, and many rookie Trainers looking to get a primer on how to battle also came through its doors. As Ralph and Brendan came through the doors, he was surprised to find how much it looked like a traditional Japanese high school back in his world. He followed Brendan through the doors of the school and into the classroom, where a handful of Trainers were currently sitting at the desks and a man in a suit was at the chalkboard, dressed in a suit with short blonde hair, square glasses, currently discussing something.   

Ralph took a seat in the back and off to the left, listening to the teacher talk about something involving status conditions. Eventually, he stopped, seeing Ralph and Brendan towards the back. "Ah, a newcomer, I see! What's your name, Trainer?"  

Ralph looked over at Brendan, who merely nodded at him. Ralph cleared his throat, and then stood up. "I, uh...I'm Ralph Wingates, from Littleroot Town."   

"That right? Well, let me be the first to welcome you to the Pokémon Trainer's School. I'm one of the teachers here, Mr. Green. Tell me, Ralph, what brings you here?" Green asked.  

"Well, uh...I'm here because I could use some help with battling, and Joshua from the Pokémon Rangers told me this would be a good place to start."  

"Ah, Joshua. He's always been a bright one, he has!" Green said happily. "Now, who would like to partner up with Ralph for a battle?"  

"Wait, already?" asked Ralph, looking towards Brendan. Brendan merely shrugged and smiled at him. Ralph glared at him; he must have known this would happen.  

A girl off to the right towards the center of the class raised her hand obediently. "I'll take a swing at him, Mr. Green!" 

"Alright, Kay," nodded Green. "Everyone, to the arena!" Everyone promptly stood and started filing out of the room through a door in the side of the room. Ralph looked over at Brendan, who continued grinning that whiskey grin and nodded towards the door.  

"I blame you for this," Ralph grunted at him before heading out the door with the rest. The door outside led to a yard, and in the middle of the yard, was another arena. Most of the students were on the sidelines, while Kay had taken her position on the opposite side. Kay, now that Ralph could see her properly, was a young girl with short light brown hair, dressed in a white blouse, light blue jacket, and pink skirt.  

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Brendan said innocently. 

"Don't lie to me, I saw you talking to Joshua in the Pokemon Center at breakfast. You were planning this from the start!"  

"...maybe." 

"Ugh, see if I buy you lunch next time..." Ralph grunted, taking up his position in the ring. "So, what kind of battle are we doing here?"  

"A simple one-on-one battle," Green explained. "Challenger gets first pick." 

"Fair enough," said Ralph. He looked down at Simurgh, but Simurgh promptly took up its usual position cowering against Lloyd's leg. "Come on, Simurgh, it's just a friendly match!" He moved his leg, and Simurgh went to the other side.  

A few people chuckled lightly.  

"Guys, come on," said Brendan. "He's still working that part out." 

"It's okay, Brendan. I'll just switch to plan B," said Ralph, pulling out Fiddlesticks's Poké Ball. "I choose you! Fiddlesticks!"  

Fiddlesticks appeared, waving its stubby arms and giving a little ghostly wail. "Tuuuump..." 

A few girls in the crowd squealed, taken with the cute appearance of Fiddlesticks. Kay was not one of them. Instead she merely smiled, and produced a Poké Ball of her own. "Interesting choice. Let's see how well you do, though! Go! Houndour!"  

A flash of light, and then across from Fiddlesticks was a black dog-like Pokémon about the size of a terrier, with white stripes on its back, around its paws, and a skull-like mask on the top of its head. Ralph produced his Pokédex.  

_Houndour. The Dark Pokémon_.  _Houndour hunt as a coordinated pack. They communicate with each other using a variety of cries to corner their prey. This Pokémon's remarkable teamwork is unparalleled._  

_Dark/Fire. Talk about stacking the deck._ Nonetheless, Ralph nodded at Green.  

"Begin!" Green declared. 

"Houndour, Bite!" Houndour charged, fangs bared at Fiddlesticks. 

"Dodge it! Kite him, Fiddlesticks!"  

Fiddlesticks shot to the left, trying to dodge the Houndour's bite, but the tail end of its body couldn't escape its jaws. The Houndour swung its head, taking him for a ride before throwing him off to the side. Fiddlesticks came to a halt, still in the air and eyes rolling in its head, before shaking his head. 

"Stay on him, Houndour! Use Ember!" 

"Ingrain! Try to tank the blow!" Fiddlesticks raised its arms, and immediately ghostly vines shout of the bottom of its body and began to draw on the earthly power in the ground. A flurry of small fireballs bombarded against Fiddlestick's body, but somehow he remained upright. "Counter with Confuse Ray!"  

Fiddlesticks raised its arm as its eyes began to glow, and a hot pink beam of energy shot out of its eyes. The attack struck Houndour full in the face, and it promptly spun around, snapping at the air, apparently having lost sight of its target even though it was still directly across from him.  

"Follow-up with Tackle!"  

Fiddlesticks detached itself from its vines and shot headlong at Houndour, slamming into it with its whole body. Houndour yipped, trying to figure out where the attack was coming from, but eventually one of its paws found Fiddlesticks's head, and promptly smacked it away. 

"Good boy, Houndour! Now, Smog!" 

A noxious cloud of purple-black smoke shot out of its mouth. Fiddlesticks recoiled from the smoke, coughing, and Houndour came flying in from yet another Bite, taking the Stump Pokémon down to the ground, chomping it again and again. Finally, Fiddlesticks was swiped away by the Houndour, defeated instantly.  

"Fiddlesticks is unable to battle! The winner is Kay and Houndour!" 

The other Trainers applauded politely as Kay called back her Houndour and Ralph did the same for Fiddlesticks. However, as the rest of the students filed back into the building, chatting about the battle they just watched, Ralph remained outside, looking rather bummed as he returned the Poké Ball to his backpack. 

"Problem?" Green asked plainly. 

Ralph sighed. "I'm just...I don't know, I just feel like I'm hitting a wall." 

"True, but you've also only been a Trainer for a less than a week. Even if it doesn't look like it, you've been getting better by leaps and bounds," Brendan said.  

"Everyone keeps saying that, but...I don't know. I just feel like I'm struggling somehow." 

"I am curious about that," Kay observed. "Do you know why your Torchic has issues with battling?" 

"I don't know," Ralph shrugged. "He has been getting better, but getting him into a fight is a total crapshoot." 

"Well...actually, there is a reason," Brendan said, raising his hand. Ralph looked over at him, giving a look of curiosity mixed with more than a little indignation. "His starter Pokémon almost got eaten by a Staraptor right after it hatched. It's always been scared of other Pokémon because of that." 

Nobody said anything for a moment. Ralph could only stare at Brendan, feeling more than a little betrayed that Brendan had apparently kept this bit of vital information to himself. As much as he said he wanted to pursue this Trainer thing by himself, Brendan keeping this secret was something he wouldn't allow to let by. 

"Wait...you knew? You knew all along about Simurgh's issues and didn't want to mention this at any point?" Ralph asked, anger and frustration rapidly starting to bubble over once again.  

"You never asked. And, well, it's not like I knew you were starting with him, so..." Brendan could only shrug.   

"But we battled on Route 103! You should've noticed..." Ralph trailed off, looked down at Simurgh, once again poking away at the ground, then closed it as he shook his head, trying to calm himself down before they had a repeat of Petalburg City. "Look. I'm not mad, buddy. I'm just saying it hurts my soul."  

"Fair enough," Brendan chuckled at the dry remark. "But if nothing else, if anyone can bring out the true strength you say Simurgh has, you can, Ralph." 

Ralph chuckled as well. Good to know another Petalburg City blowup had been avoided. 

"But, coming back to what Brendan said," Kay said, joining the two. "I will agree that you definitely seem like someone with the chops to be a Trainer, especially for someone that's only been training for the last week or so. What do you think the problem is?"  

"I...honestly, I think it's less a problem with Simurgh and more with me. If I don't have a plan, I'm kinda lost." 

"But you seemed to have a plan going into our battle. Why would you say you didn't have a plan if you were so decisive in your moves?" 

"All of that was just the first thing that came to mind. It's no better than flailing around. I need to have a focused game plan going in." 

"Ah, but maybe that's the idea," Green said suddenly, appearing at Ralph's back with his hands on his shoulders. "See, based on my own observations, you like to be a thinker: mercurial, creative, someone who likes to think outside the box. But when you battle, you become a fighter: impulsive, hasty, trying to constantly feel your opponent out." 

Ralph took one giant step to the left away from Green. "I guess that's a way of thinking about it. And I can't reconcile that in my head at all." 

"On the contrary!" Green said brightly. "You are more than capable of being of two minds in a Pokémon battle. A particular piece of advice I could give you is this: 'If you must think, then act. If you must act, then think.'" 

"...I don't get it," Ralph said flatly. 

"The world of Pokémon is vast indeed," Green explained. "And each Pokémon in it is unique. So it is with battles. You'll never be able to take into account every situation and have a contingency for them. So instead of trying to quantify every unknown opponent, make the unknown known and quantify that, instead." 

Ralph pursed his lips, his hands following his mind as it went over Green's words. Eventually, he gave up as his arms crossed together. "Your logic is extremely roundabout and probably flawed somewhere." 

"You'll understand it soon enough. But in the meantime, you are more than welcome to stay and study with us, even if it's just for the rest of the day." 

Ralph looked from Green, to Brendan, then over to Kay. It wasn't like they had anything better to do and chances were May wouldn't be done with her battle with Roxanne for some time yet. It would help to pass the time, at the very least, and he was bound to learn something new if it was going to stay for the rest of the session. 

"Meh. Why not?" 

* * *

The class was over by about evening. Despite Green's cryptic statements from his battle with Kay, the Trainer's School had proven to be a veritable wealth of information, not only about battling, but Pokémon in general as well as the Hoenn region in comparison to the other regions as well. Apparently Hoenn was a collection of four islands, one larger island that comprised much of Western and Central Hoenn, and three smaller islands that made up East Hoenn. This meant that Hoenn boasted one of the highest concentrations of Water-type Pokémon of all the regions, except for maybe the Orange Islands. 

Anyway, as Ralph and Brendan left the school, May met them on their way to the Pokémon Center.  

"Well? How'd it go?"  

May simply revealed a small pin about the size of Ralph's thumb, jeweled and colored maroon with gold additions on the sides. "She had me going for a moment there, but I still came out on top!" 

"Nice, May!" said Brendan. "With a bit of luck, maybe Ralph can come out with a Badge of his own, right?" 

"Well yeah...I'm just more worried about what I'm going to do in that battle. From what I heard about Roxanne at the Pokémon Trainer's School, she uses Rock-types. That means she's got a type advantage over Simurgh and Fiddlesticks doesn't know any Grass-type moves to take advantage of his typing," Ralph grunted. 

"Well, you could try to find other Pokémon on Route 104 North or in Petalburg Woods. There's a patch of grass out near the flower shop where you could try to catch some Lotad or Seedot," offered Brendan. 

"Plus we haven't explored Route 116, which the route headed northwest out of town. You're bound to find  _something_ out that way," added May. 

"That's all well and good, but I don’t want to hold you guys up just because I'm still trying to find my way around Roxanne just for the sake of getting a type advantage," said Ralph.  

"Ralph, just because I got my Badge already doesn't mean you have to get yours tomorrow," May said. "A Trainer's journey is meant to be taken at its own pace."  

"I know," Ralph nodded. They stepped through the doors of the Pokémon Center, and Ralph placed Fiddlesticks's Poké Ball on Nurse Joy's desk to revive him. "But the thing is, if I keep thinking about how to do this forever, I'm never gonna move forward. I'd rather try and hope to succeed than not and fail outright."  

"Well, okay..." May began. "But what exactly do you plan to do?" 

"Fiddlesticks is my best bet. He knows Ghost-type moves, which isn't ideal, but it's definitely better than Simurgh's Normal and Fire-type moves. If I could find a way to make those moves stronger, it would help a lot." 

"Well, there are ways you can do that. Moves like Simurgh's Growl are designed to make opposing Pokémon weaker or your Pokémon stronger. Chances are Fiddlesticks knows a similar move that can help you pull off what you're looking for," offered Brendan. 

Ralph slowly nodded, taking Fiddlesticks's Poké Ball from Nurse Joy. He made his way towards the cafeteria, Simurgh right behind him. May looked over at Brendan, more worried than she probably liked to have been in this situation. "Is he going to be okay?" 

"Knowing Ralph, he'll be fine," Brendan grinned. "If he's the kind of Trainer we know he is, he's already coming up with a battle plan for Roxanne." 

A few seconds later, a loud "Eureka!" came from the hall, getting the attention of everyone in the hall. 

"Told ya," Brendan nudged May. 

* * *

The next morning, Ralph stepped through the doors of the Gym, looking around at the humongous room. He was expecting it to be like the fencing academy he'd used to frequent when he was younger, small with only tape to mark the fencing strip but this place almost looked more like a museum than a gymnasium, with glass cases of equipment in the walls and what were either fossils or carvings of fossils in the rock walls. On the far side of the room, surrounded by stone images of Pokémon he couldn't hope to identify at first glance, was a large dirt arena on a raised stone platform, and standing in the center of this arena was a young woman with brown hair in buns and two ponytails, dressed in what almost reminded him of a Japanese school uniform, a short gray dress with a pink bow around her neck, and of all things, magenta pantyhose. Already, Ralph could hear the echoes of his sisters wondering what she was on to let that be in her wardrobe.  

Then he went back to the task at hand, clearing his throat. "My name is Ralph Franklin Wingates! Leader Roxanne of the Rustboro City Gym, I have come to challenge you!"  

The woman in the arena looked up from the small book she had on her as Ralph, along with Simurgh, made their way to the arena. "A new challenger, I take it? I've heard from my classmates at the Pokémon Trainer School that you've made quite a splash." Ralph shrugged, giving a nonchalant grunt. "Anyway, I became a Gym Leader so that I may apply what I learned at the Pokémon Trainer's School. Would you kindly demonstrate which how you battle, and with which Pokémon?"  

"That's kinda what I'm here for."  

"Excellent! This will be a two-on-two battle with no time limit. Only the challenger is allowed to switch, and they also gain first call. Let us begin!" Roxanne said, already going for one of her Poke Balls.  

Ralph grabbed his Ball as well and launched it into the center of the room. "Fiddlesticks! It's showtime!" Fiddlesticks appeared on the field, hovering and waving its appendages in a spooky motion at Roxanne.  

"A Phantump? I must say, I was not expecting such an obscure Pokémon," said Roxanne. "But I will not be turned away just because you might prey on a type advantage! Go, Geodude!" From the flash of light, the strangest Pokémon Ralph had seen yet appeared: a large rock, maybe about the size of his foot, with two eyes, a mouth, and two semi-muscular arms. Ralph produced his Pokedex.  

_Geodude. The Rock Pokémon. The longer a Geodude lives, the more its edges are chipped and worn away, making it more rounded in appearance. When Geodude sleeps deeply, it buries itself halfway into the ground, and will not awaken even if hikers step on it unwittingly._   

"Okay, Fiddlesticks! Just like we planned at the Trainer's School!" Ralph said. "Use Ingrain!" Immediately Fiddlesticks raised his arms, roots shooting out of the lower part of its body and digging into the ground.   

"A defensive strategy? We'll see how well that works for you! Geodude! Rock Throw!" Geodude shot one of its arms deep into the ground and produced a boulder about the size of Ralph's head and threw it at Fiddlesticks. It hit, but Fiddlesticks held firm as energy began to creep through the roots he'd put down.   

"Now, Growth!" Ralph said. Feeding once more on the energy of the roots, Fiddlesticks began to glow bright green, almost appearing a good one-and-a-half times bigger than he had been previously.   

"Rock Throw again!" Roxanne countered. Geodude took another rock in its hand and threw it. This time, Fiddlesticks was ready, and ducked underneath the blow, as Ralph quickly sidestepped to avoid the rock as it flew past him.   

"I have you now! Fiddlesticks, Astonish!" Fiddlesticks suddenly vanished from sight. As Geodude and Roxanne looked around, trying to wonder where the small ghost had gone, suddenly it reappeared right behind Geodude, landing a mighty slap across its back.   

"Geo-!?" The Rock Pokémon somehow rolled a good twenty feet out of the way, though whether that was out of shock from getting surprised or Fiddlesticks was just that strong was anyone's guess.   

"Good job, Fiddlesticks! Now Ingrain again!"  

"Geodude, Rock Tomb! Don't let that Phantump just wander all over the place!" Roxanne countered.   

"Geo-DUDE!" Geodude pounded on the ground with both arms, and four more rocks appeared, hemming in Fiddlesticks on all sides. He could barely see Fiddlesticks inside his rocky prison, having managed to survive thanks to digging in once more, but any further moves from that Geodude and he'd be facing two Pokémon at a disadvantage. Time to end this.   

"Wait for it..." Ralph said. "Wait for it..."  

Roxanne hesitated, wondering what exactly Ralph was planning. That was all the opportunity he needed.  

"Astonish again!"  

Fiddlesticks's head suddenly shot through the gaps of the rocks, blowing a raspberry. Geodude rolled backward a little, caught off-guard, and then out came the rest of Fiddlesticks as he promptly rolled in midair and bounced off of Geodude's head with a bit more force someone would expect out of a Ghost Pokémon. Geodude flopped to the ground, defeated.  

" _Geodude is unable to battle! The winner is Fiddlesticks!_ "  

"And boom goes the dynamite!" Ralph cheered. "Operation Earthshaker is a success!"   

"Very impressive, Ralph," complimented Roxanne, calling back her Geodude. "You managed to defeat my Geodude without using super effective moves. But you still need one more victory if you're going to win this fight, and this Pokémon is much stronger than the last one! I choose you! Nosepass!"  

Roxanne threw her second Poke Ball, and out came yet another rock. This one was a tall one, compared to the wider Geodude, at least the size of a small child. It was blue compared to the Geodude's beige, almost the color of granite or slate, save for its nose. Its nose was long and triangular, almost like a compass point. Ralph brought out his Pokedex once again.  

_Nosepass. The Compass Pokémon. Nosepass’s magnetic nose is always pointed to the north. It had been said to be completely unmoving, but close observation has revealed that the Pokémon actually moves by a little over 3/8 of an inch every year._   

Ralph readjusted his jacket. He could smell the victory, but he willed himself not to start daydreaming. Act three of any operation was the most likely point Murphy's Law loved to rear its ugly head, and he was determined to finish this fight as cleanly as possible. "It's definitely something, I'll give you that, but Fiddlesticks and I still have the advantage with our Earthshaker strategy! Give it another Astonish!"   

Fiddlesticks zipped forward, staring at it for a few seconds, then promptly gave it a tweak across the nose. It didn't even appear to move, and Fiddlesticks actually yelped, waving its aching hand.  

"I warned you, didn't I? Rock Tomb!" Nosepass waved its two little arms in a circle. This time, the ground rumbled as four stalagmites erupted from the ground, converging into a pyramid. When the stones retreated, Fiddlesticks was collapsed on the ground, down for the count.   

" _Phantump is unable to battle! The winner is Nosepass!_ "   

"One victory apiece," Roxanne said calmly. "I assume your second Pokémon is your Torchic?"   

This right here was Ralph's nightmare scenario: a type disadvantage with Simurgh, and he still hadn't managed to iron out all of the kinks with him yet. And by the feeling of Simurgh trembling against his pant leg, he was about ready to take his balls and leave while he still had his dignity, too. He could always head out to Petalburg Woods again tomorrow, try and catch another Pokémon that could fight Roxanne on an even keel.   

_No. I gave up once already. I'm not about to do it again just because it might not work._   

"Fiddlesticks, return!" Ralph said, recalling the Phantump to its Ball. He then kneeled before Simurgh, moving his head up. "Simurgh. Listen to me. This is hardly ideal, but you're the best chance we've got. Fiddlesticks set you up, now you just have finish it off!"  

"Chic..." Simurgh chirped, not exactly inspired. Ralph groaned, hearing the referee call for his next move or be disqualified in the next thirty seconds. Talk about getting blind-sided.  

Blind-sided.  

Blind-side.  

Blind Side.  

Michael Oher.  

_Wait a minute!_   

"Simurgh. Eyes here," Ralph said, pointing up at his eyes. "Don't look at them. Look at me."  

" _Twenty seconds!_ "  

"Simurgh. You know what your job is? You're the left tackle. Your job is to protect my blind side, you got that?" Simurgh ruffled a little, giving no reply. "Your job is to stop that Nosepass getting at me. You are the only thing that can stop him."  

" _Ten seconds!_ "  

"Stop that Nosepass. Hit him as hard as you can, or he's gonna get me. You got it?"  

"Chic!" Simurgh nodded. It still looked scared, but ready. It was the best he could hope for.  

" _Five seconds!_ "  

"Okay, Simurgh! Let's rock and roll!" Simurgh promptly charged into the battle, scratching at the ground.    

"So it's come to this, then? How will you handle being at a type disadvantage when your last Pokémon barely fazed my Nosepass?" Roxanne asked calmly.  

"As Vi once said, 'Punch first, ask questions while punching!' Simurgh, Scratch!" Simurgh immediately took off, jumping into the air and waving its talons wildly in the air almost like a Yoshi would. It didn't really do much, and if Nosepass was paying attention it was hard to tell.   

"Rock Tomb!" No sooner had Simurgh landed than Roxanne made her move. Nosepass raised its arms once again, shifted about twenty degrees to the left, and waved its arms. The rocks erupted from the ground, trying to catch his enemy in the same maneuver.  

"Simurgh, move out of the way! Don't give that Nosepass a moving target!" Ralph commanded. Immediately Simurgh took a hard left as the rocks converged on the same place. "Good! Now go for a Growl!"   

"Tor-Chic!" Torchic said, ruffling its feathers and flapping its wings. Again, there was no reaction from the Nosepass.  

"Rock Throw!" Nosepass summoned one of the rocks previously used in the fight to it, grabbed it in both hands, and then spun, throwing the rock like a shotput. The attack hit dead-on.  

"Simurgh!" Ralph cried out, but Simurgh somehow remained upright, skittering over in front of Ralph once again, despite nursing what looked to be quite a large scuff mark on its head where the rock hit. Apparently, Simurgh was wearing it down, but the last thing he needed was to draw this battle into a stalemate. He needed a means to turn the tide, but he wasn't going to get it just attacking in vain. He needed a proper strategy, or Roxanne was just going to wear them out.   

He watched the Nosepass closely as it returned to its original position, barely moving from its original orientation. Then, something hit him. Nosepass's nose pointed north, like a compass, and used it in order to attack, using his own magnetic pull to give him centripetal force. If there was one thing he learned from his one year of AP Physics, it was how magnets worked...!  

"Simurgh! Run in circles around him! Try to stay out of his range!"   

Simurgh immediately began taking laps around the arena. The Nosepass turned with him, slowing as it began to point south, but immediately it picked up speed again as it began pointing north.   

"Rock Tomb!" The Nosepass faced due north and attempted another move.   

"Reverse!"   

Simurgh stopped, skidding just shy of the Nosepass's next attack, and then promptly started running the other direction. Nosepass spun around in an attempt to meet him...  

"Now! Ember, right at his nose!" Simurgh exhaled another fireball. The attack struck true, ringing off the Nosepass's nose. It didn't appear to do much, but Ralph put it out of his mind. "Lap him again!" Simurgh took off running once again.   

"You'll only tire yourself out at this rate! Rock Throw!" Once again, it summoned another rock from outside the arena, but Ralph noted it was a bit slower than before. It promptly spun again and threw, but Simurgh dodged under it.  

_Yes! I think it's working! Two more good hits and maybe...I just hope Simurgh can take a bit more punishment...!_   

"Ember! Same place!" Simurgh jumped, going for Nosepass's nose once more as it faced east to follow him. The attack hit. Nosepass was slowing considerably, in fact, it was becoming much more wobbly, barely able to keep its balance.   

"What's going on?" Roxanne asked, quite confused. "Nosepass, stay focused!"  

"It can't. Not as good as it used to, anyhow," Ralph explained. "See, Torchic's flame burns at nearly 2000 degrees Fahrenheit, according to my Pokedex. And that Nosepass's nose functions as a compass. Now, I may not know as much about Pokémon compared to other Pokémon Trainers, but I do know a little something about physics. And...well, if there's one thing I remembered out of it, it's that magnets and heat don't mix!"  

"What do you mean?"  

"Your Nosepass relies on its internal compass to attack, using the magnets in its nose summon rocks and keep up with Simurgh," Ralph said. "But that's why I had Simurgh keep using Ember on its nose. Hit it enough times with such hot attacks...well, now it can't tell north from just about anywhere, really!"  

Roxanne's eyes widened, catching Ralph's insinuation at once. "Nosepass! Rock Tomb!" Nosepass spun, trying to find Simurgh's general direction to catch it with the entrapment move once more.  

"Now! Get in close and finish him with another Ember!" Ralph commanded.  

Simurgh ran, despite looking exhausted from the laps he was running the whole time he'd been battling. As the Nosepass turned, it missed Simurgh by maybe a few degrees, and the resultant Rock Tomb hit nothing but open air. At such close range, the next Ember was impossible to miss.   

POW.  

Simurgh exhaled the biggest fireball yet, directly at Nosepass's nose, and scampered out of the way. Nosepass spun a few more times, trying desperately to hang on, but finally collapsed, no longer able to take any punishment.   

" _Nosepass is unable to battle! The winner is Ralph and Simurgh!"_   

_"_ YEAAAAAH!" Ralph cheered, jumping into the air with joy, only to realize he'd been standing on the edge of the arena this whole time and nearly fell off. "It's about DAMN time! Simurgh! Come here, big hero!" Simurgh waddled his way over to Ralph, only to be drawn into a Beartic-like embrace. "Nice work, buddy, that was great!"  

Roxanne, despite being defeated, didn't appear all that torn up about it, even after she recalled her Nosepass. "It seems I still have much to learn...very well. The Pokémon League's rules state that Trainers receive this if they defeat a Gym Leader." She quickly fished out the book she'd been reading earlier, and unclipped something from the page. "Please accept this: the official Pokémon League Stone Badge."  

Ralph took the Badge, staring at the small thing nestled in his palm. He had cleared the first gate of becoming a Pokémon Trainer. For as happy as he was that he'd manage to win despite being a such a disadvantage, there was a part of him that was wondering "was this all there was?" But then, Simurgh took the Stone Badge from his hand and started trying to pin it on his chest.   

"Thanks," he said, taking the badge from his Torchic and sticking it in his jacket pocket for later.   

"And...please take this with you, too," Roxanne added, placing a brown TM in his hand. "This is TM39, Rock Tomb. Perhaps you'll find other interesting uses for it in your battle strategy. Especially seeing how strong you are, in mind and spirit especially, you should challenge other Gym Leders, too. By battling many Trainers, you'll likely learn many things."  

"Thanks," Ralph said again, placing it in his other jacket pocket.   

"I hope we can battle again sometime," Roxanne said. "Until then, farewell."  

"Until then."   

Ralph and Simurgh triumphantly left the gym and made their way back into the city.   

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> STONE BADGE GET!
> 
> ...there's not a lot more to say, I guess.
> 
> Next chapter, the group has one more adventure in Rustboro City at the hands of another new enemy.


	7. Breaking the Law

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What starts as a celebration of Ralph and May winning their Stone Badge ends with Ralph facing off against the other band of criminals in Hoenn.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guess who's back? Back again? Ralph is back! Tell a friend!
> 
> Seriously, this chapter took forever. The main reason for that, however, is that I'm graduating from college in about a week and a half, and I'd been spending the previous year making sure that I've dotted my i's and crossed my t's. I can't promise my time will be completely free this summer, but hopefully this will be the last of the big year-long gaps in between chapters.
> 
> In other news, I do have a major announcement at the end of the chapter, so be sure to read the end-of-chapter notes!

Ralph and Simurgh stepped through the doors of the Pokémon Center right as the sun had just finished setting beyond the western horizon, painting all of Rustboro City in beautiful oranges and violets and the dappled shoreline of Route 115 headed north towards Meteor Falls a dark blue like a rippling, living sea of slate. Brendan and May were in the lobby, apparently sitting around with not much else to do, with May’s Treecko and Taillow milling around on the ground at their feet with Brendan’s Mudkip and another Pokémon Ralph didn’t recognize, a small beige-colored thing with short, stubby green legs. May promptly came over, looking worried. “Well?” 

Ralph said nothing for a moment, then held out his newly-acquired Stone Badge, grinning like a Meowth in a particularly bright patch of sunlight. “ _Veni, vidi, vici!_ ”  

“Yay!” May cheered, hugging Ralph and Simurgh at the same time.  

“What’d I tell you, huh?” Brendan said, clapping Ralph on the back. “If anyone’s got the way to win with Simurgh, it’s gonna be you.” 

“Thanks, guys,” Ralph said, shifting around so that he could let Simurgh breathe around May’s embrace. “It was pretty close for a moment there, but Simurgh and Fiddlesticks pulled a Buneary out of the hat.” 

“You should call Dad, tell him the good news,” Brendan suggested. “…heck with it, I’ll go ahead and ring him up!” With that, he went off towards the computer in the corner of the room, pulling out his Pokégear as he did. May then let go of Ralph, allowing him to go see Nursery Joy and turn over Fiddlesticks and Simurgh for much-needed healing.  

“So, feel like you made any progress yet?” May asked.  

“Yeah…kind of,” Ralph amended, taking back his Pokémon. He tapped on the desk a couple of times, trying to piece together what he wanted to say. “I don’t know, May, I just kinda feel…underwhelmed. I finally got the thing I spent the entirety of yesterday working myself into a frenzy over, and I feel like there should be more…excitement, I guess the word is.” 

“Well, it is exciting that you got your first Badge,” May said. “...right? You certainly were excited when you came in.” 

“Of course I was. I am. It’s huge, especially for Simurgh, that we had a clutch victory in such a heated fight. I’m just…I feel like I’m supposed to be finding something else here, is all I’m saying.” 

Then Brendan came over, gesturing off to the side. “Dad wants to talk to you.” 

Ralph picked up Simurgh and followed Brendan’s gaze to the nearby computer. He’d seen Trainers milling around the computers for some reason, but never really knew why. As he approached, he noticed that the computers were not like computers he’d seen back home. They were the size of a new old-fashioned desktop computer from the 80s, with a QWERTY keyboard underneath it, and a mouse resting on the tabletop. But what set this apart from the rest was the strange attachment on the monitor. It looked like something large was supposed to go in the cavity, but Brendan’s Pokégear was inserted with no issue.  

“ _Ralph! How you doing, big man?_ ” 

Ralph visibly jumped, realizing that Professor Birch’s face was on the screen. In real-time with no lag. Skype was nowhere near this level of quality. “Professor Birch?”  

“ _Brendan did tell you I wanted to talk to you afterward, right? I heard you got your first Badge this afternoon!_ ” Birch grinned. He looked no different than when Ralph had left with May two weeks ago. 

“Yeah, as a matter of fact,” Ralph said, scrounging up a smile. “Simurgh secured us a win against Roxanne. Obviously, I’m just chilling at the Pokémon Center now, so…why the social call, Professor?” 

“ _What, I need a reason to check up on my old assistant once in a while?_ ” Birch said, before his face grew serious. “ _Actually, I have been looking into a few things for you over on my end, and I figured you’d like to learn what I found._ ” 

Then prospect of anything resembling a reason as to why he was brought to Hoenn brightened Ralph’s mood substantially. “Anything important, I hope?” 

“ _Well…not a lot, honestly, but I do have some leads you could look into during your travels. Now, there are several Pokémon, the one-of-a-kind variety, who do have powers far beyond that of any Pokémon you’d normally find just roaming around. The only Pokémon that I know of that have the ability to even affect space and/or time to a large enough degree to get you here are Dialga and Palkia, a pair of legendary Pokémon from the Sinnoh region. The last time anyone saw either of those guys was an incident in Alamos Town a few years ago, involving a Trainer named Ash Ketchum._ ” 

The English major in Ralph’s brain snickered lightly at the name, but Ralph focused on the bigger question. “And what do we know about this Ash Ketchum?” 

Birch actually shrugged. “ _Honestly? Not much. All anybody knows about him is that he’s a Trainer from Pallet Town, which is in the Kanto region, and he’s one of the better Trainers out there…but between you and me,_ ” he added in a whisper. “ _Professor Oak, the Pokémon Professor of Kanto, is really protective of him. Rumor has it whenever Ash has a run-in with legendary Pokémon, Oak is the one who tries to keep most of it under wraps. We’re lucky if we get anything at all out of it._ ” 

“Fascinating,” mused Ralph, in his best impression of Spock. “If I wanted to learn more about Dialga and Palkia, where would I go?” 

“ _The best course of action I could offer you there is to actually go to Sinnoh yourself. But, with the season officially underway, that’s no good._ ” Ralph groaned, hanging his head. “ _That said, I do have a backup plan. If I were you, I’d make my way north to Fallarbor Town and seek out Professor Kozmo. He’s actually the head scientist at the Space Center in Mossdeep City on the east side of Hoenn, but he has a private lab there he frequents. Chances are you'll find out more there."_  

Ralph looked above him at a map of Hoenn mounted to the wall, trying to find Fallarbor Town. He eventually found it near the top, on the west side of the map. In fact, Rustboro City was not that far away. "That's actually not that far from where I am right now. I could probably get there in a couple of days if I head north tomorrow morning." 

" _Well...that is an idea, I just wouldn't suggest it, because that way requires not only crossing the channel into Route 115, but also crossing through Meteor Falls, which has Pokemon that are a lot stronger than you could take on right now. If I were you, I'd take the long way around by going south through Route 105 and 106 to Dewford Town, then go east via Routes 107, 108, and 109 to Slateport City. After that it's just mostly heading as far northwest as you can. It'll be a long journey, but along the way you can get the next three badges._ " 

Ralph hummed, tracing the routes with his fingers. Then he realized something about those routes. "Whoa, hold up. Those are water routes. Nobody ever said anything about travelling by sea!"  

" _Why? Do you get seasick?_ " 

"No, I just don't remember there being any ferry services around here. How in the bluish flaming hell do I get to Dewford Town or Slateport City if there's no boat?" 

" _Don't worry about it. I'm sure May or Brendan will be more than willing to help you. Okay, I better go, my wife's trying to get my attention. Congrats and safe travels, Ralph!_ " 

"No, wait, Professor-!" Too late. The screen went dark. "...this guy, I swear..." 

Brendan came over, retrieving his Pokegear from the machine. "Hey Ralph. May and I were thinking of going out to celebrate beating Roxanne. You want to come with?" 

Ralph sighed. "Sure thing. Where we headed?" 

* * *

Brendan, May, and Ralph made their way out of the Pokemon Center and back up the main street. Now that it was in the evening and the sun was starting to dip past the apartment buildings on the west side, Rustboro City seemed to have changed color to something resembling rust, especially with the cobblestone sidewalks that he'd just now noticed lined the streets. It was such a weird design choice, but compared to back home it was so different to just plain old gray he really didn't care. 

They eventually passed the street the Gym was on and turned right at the next one, where Ralph saw a building tucked on the back side of the town. A red sign proclaiming "Ricky's Rustboro Pizza: A Rustboro City Establishment Since 2004" was hanging over the door.  

Pizza. Just hearing the word in his mind was already taking him back to so many memories of home. May nudged him, gesturing him through the door. And upon stepping in, his nose caught the smell of good dough and sauce, and he turned away for a moment, trying to stop himself from breaking down in tears out of homesickness and nostalgia. Then Simurgh pecked away at him, bringing him back out of his head. "Chic?" 

"I'm fine, buddy," Ralph said, shaking his head. Food now. Cry later.  

A burly man came in from behind the doors to the kitchen, taller than Brendan and May, but somehow not as tall as Ralph. And just past the ticket window was a large manila Pokemon with a steel blue back, waiting for something in the back. He happened to catch his eye, and there was a kind of anger he might not have seen out of any Pokemon he'd seen yet. Well, maybe not angry, more like gruff. Not that it mattered to Simurgh, who promptly spun in Ralph's arms and hid his face in his armpit. Whatever bravery he'd managed to inspire out of him during the battle with Roxanne seemed to have faded out.  

"Trainers, huh?" The man asked in a rough voice that probably wouldn't be out of place in Brooklyn. "Name's Ricky. What can I get you today?"   

"Ralph?" Brendan looked over at Ralph, who was still trying to figure out just what that Pokemon in the back was.  

Ricky smiled and yelled behind him, "Oy! Get out here, Hotshot!"  

The Pokemon, easily 5'7 and even bigger than his Trainer/owner, came out of the kitchen on four legs, then rose up on its hind legs, still giving the group that weirdly gruff look. Ralph quickly pulled out his Pokedex and let it figure out its identity. 

_Typhlosion. The Volcano Pokemon. The final form of the Cyndaquil evolution line. Typhlosion obscures itself behind a shimmering heat haze that it creates using its intensely hot flames. This Pokémon creates blazing explosive blasts that burn everything to cinders._  

"Interesting..." Ralph muttered.  

"Hotshot and I have been together for the longest time," Ricky shrugged. "So it's not the first time a Trainer's been overly curious to see a Johto starter in Hoenn for me. Anyway, what'll you be ordering?" 

Brendan looked towards Ralph, prompting him to answer the question, but he really didn't get an answer out of him. He was too busy looking overhead at the menu, trying to get an idea of what sounded good, but even though everything seemed so familiar. Eventually, as Ralph's silence hung over them, Brendan took the advantage. "Let's just go with the basics. One large cheese pizza and breadsticks. And if you've got something for our Pokemon, that'd be great." 

"Alright. How many Pokemon you all have?" 

"Two," Brendan said. 

"Two," said May. 

Ralph said nothing, but held up two fingers. 

"Gotcha," Ricky took a small plastic object with a number from nearby and placed it on the counter. "You three go ahead and take a seat wherever and Hotshot will bring your food when it's ready." 

Brendan nodded, taking the object and making his way through the various tables to an open one out on the patio. The pizzeria was maybe sixty percent full due to the dinner rush just beginning, so there was a lot of people at tables and in cubicles, and many of them had Pokemon with them as well. If he could, Ralph would love to take his Pokedex to them, but he decided against it, and instead took a seat with Brendan and May at the table. He put Torchic on the floor, ruffling his plumage before calling out Fiddlesticks to join them. May had also called out Treecko and Taillow, and Brendan had summoned Mudkip and the weird mushroom Pokemon from earlier.  

That, he'd be fine sating his curiosity with. Out came the Pokedex. 

_Shroomish. The Mushroom Pokemon. Shroomish live in damp soil in the dark depths of forests. They are often found keeping still under fallen leaves. This Pokémon feeds on compost that is made up of fallen, rotted leaves._  

"What's up with you, Ralph? You look a little distant."  

Ralph gave a grunt of indifference to Brendan, not really into talking as he put his Pokedex away. Hotshot came in laden with drinks for everyone, and Ralph just went into drinking his soda. May, not really into the silence hanging around them, proceeded to take over talking. "So, the next badge is where, exactly?" 

"Dewford Town. It's on a small island on the southwest side of Hoenn," Brendan said. "There's actually not a whole lot that goes on out there, but it's still a really nice place to be. I went out there once with Dad to check on the local species of Water Pokemon out there." 

"Oh, that's kinda cool...plus, spending some time out on the beach is always a plus," May said. "How 'bout it, Ralph? You like going to the beach?" 

_Of course,_  Ralph's brain said. Ralph's mouth resolutely refused to concur. He'd had this kind of feeling before, where conversations were nigh-impossible, partly because of him being lost in thought, but because of a certain other thing he had to deal with. Between the excitement of his Gym victory dimming and the sudden trip down memory lane, it were as though he'd suddenly contracted lockjaw, unable to offer much of anything to the conversation outside of a quick nod and a grunt before looking back down at his Stone Badge.   

"What's up, Ralph? You've been quiet all evening," said Brendan.  

Ralph shrugged again. May just gave him a kind look, rubbing his shoulder. "He's just been having a long day. I bet the pizza will cheer him up." 

Ralph nodded, glad to at least contribute that way. But even so, his mind went right back to wandering, thinking of home. It'd been at least two weeks since he'd been whisked away to Hoenn, and even though so much had happened in just this first leg of his adventure, he couldn't help himself from wondering how his parents were dealing with this. His siblings. He didn't even want to think about the student loan debt his parents co-signed on for him, or whatever legal hooplah he'd invited on them since not coming home that night.  

Then, he caught it. That undeniable smell of food. Hotshot had returned, a large board with pizza in one hand and breadsticks in the other. It was so close to home he almost didn't need to taste it to be taken back. Ralph tried to turn away, trying to stem that rushing, choking feeling as he grabbed the napkin next to him, but it was too late.  

"Ralph? What's wrong?" May asked.  

Ralph took a few shaky breaths, trying to calm himself as he wiped at the one tear that had managed to escape his eye. "Sorry. The food kinda made me think about home."  

May raised an eyebrow, not entirely sure how to take that. Brendan, however, recognized the meaning of that statement, and quickly leaned in to whisper in Ralph's ear, "she doesn't know, does she?" Ralph shook his head. "Should we tell her now?"  

Ralph shook his head again and turned to May, putting down his napkin. "Let's just say I'm foreign and leave it at that for now. It's been a while since I've been away from home for such an extended period of time, so..." 

"So you're homesick?" May asked, putting a hand on his arm. Ralph flinched slightly at her touch. "I get that. It's hard not to miss home after being away for a while. But you know you always can go back, right?"  

"One can only hope," Ralph said, hoping not to sound too cryptic. May just gave him another look of confusion, so he quickly tried to focus on Simurgh and Fiddlesticks, eating their food next to his chair. Simurgh looked up at him, ruffling its feathers momentarily. Ralph chuckled, ruffling Simurgh's plumage. Hopefully he was having a better celebration than he was at the moment.  

"Out of the way! Move it!" 

The three Trainers suddenly looked up as someone ran past them down the main road. Ralph couldn't get a good look at him, but he saw a small blur of dark red dashing down the street and then round the corner headed east.  

"The hell was that?" Ralph asked. 

"I don't know, but already I've got a bad feeling..." Brendan observed. 

And then, jogging pathetically behind the red blur, was a familiar-looking scientist. In fact, it was the same scientist that Ralph and May had met back in Petalburg Woods. Clearly some other ill fortune had befallen the bespectacled man as he tried to follow after him. "Wait! Pleeeeease! Don't take those parts!" 

"….I'll be right back," Ralph frowned. He quickly vaulted over the short wall separating the patio from the rest of the street and took off after them.  

"Wait, Ralph-!" May was already going after them, leaving Brendan and his Pokemon alone at the table, with a very expectant-looking Typhlosion staring him in the face. Brendan would've loved to just say they'd be back, but the way things panned out a few seconds before was a sign this would not be settled in a reasonable enough of a time frame. This also had the (maybe) unintended consequence of saddling Brendan with the bill.  

"Uh...check, please?" Brendan asked, raising his hand slowly. "And maybe some to-go boxes, if you have them...?" 

* * *

Ralph and May followed the scientist down the street onto the last stretch of road before the pavement turned into the dirt road of Route 116. The scientist was out of breath and panicked, muttering to himself about all the things that were probably going to happen to him now, but then he turned around and saw the two Trainers approaching him. "Oh! You're those wonderful Trainers who helped me in Petalburg Woods!" 

"Yeah, what happened to you this time?" asked May. 

The man didn't even bother with subtlety; he promptly prostrated himself at May's feet. "Please help me! I was robbed by Team Magma! I have to get those Devon Parts back! If I don't...I'm going to be in serious trouble...!" 

"Well he couldn't have gotten far," Ralph said. "Do you have any idea where he could be headed?"  

"I thought I saw him head for the tunnel in that direction," the scientist said, pointing down the road. 

"A tunnel?" asked May. "To where?" 

"It was supposed to be a tunnel going through Mt. Chimney to Verdanturf Town, so it would link this side of Hoenn to the central region," Brendan came around the corner, looking rather miffed about being stiffed. "It'd make travel between Rustboro City and Mauville City easier, among other things." 

"Oh..." Ralph said, looking into the distance. Past the trees and beyond where the path was visible was a massive volcano, smoke slowly rising up into the sky. How he hadn't managed to see it now, especially since walking around in Rustboro City the previous day, was almost kind of interesting, not to mention terrifying. "Wait, I heard a  _was._  What happened?" 

"Well, it turned out that people in Rustboro City were complaining that the drilling team was working on the tunnel after hours and the noises were keeping people up every night. The drilling company told them all their guys were off-work at those times, and even showed security footage they claimed showed nobody was working during those times. Dad eventually had to come and figure out the whole mess. 

"Turns out the area they were drilling through is home to a big colony of Whismur. The Whismur were kicking up a huge fuss because they were drilling through their natural feeding and breeding grounds up in the mountains. Dad eventually said the project was too destructive to the environment to continue and had the whole thing shut down. Which is a shame, because a lot of people were looking forward to the easier travel between West and Central Hoenn. People usually have to go the long way around the mountains." 

"And now that Team Magma guy just ran off into an unfinished tunnel in the hopes of hiding from the authorities or the Pokemon Rangers," Ralph finished. "...you did call the authorities and-or the Pokemon Rangers, right?"  

"Um...actually, I'll go do that right now," said the scientist, quickly scampering off. 

"Send for Joshua, tell them Brendan Birch sent you!" Brendan called at his retreating back.  

"Well, now what?" 

"Well, frankly, this is an issue the Rangers should handle. They have a lot more experience in dealing with these kinds of criminals than we do. So I say we double back and finish that pizza? Which you guys left me to pay for in full, by the way..." Brendan added, giving his friends a dull glare. 

"Sorry, we were hoping to come back if it wasn't that big of an issue..." May said, scratching the back of her head. 

Ralph, however, ignored it, looking back towards the tunnel. "Or, we could go scout the area ourselves, make sure the guy hasn't tried to run off through a bolt hole we don't know about." 

"You can't possibly be suggesting we deal with these guys ourselves, right?" asked May. 

"Ralph, Joshua told us these guys are serious business! We shouldn't be getting involved! You're lucky you and May didn't get hurt with that Team Aqua guy in Petalburg Forest!" 

"I never said I wanted to battle him. I just want to scout the area. That's all. Besides, we're just Trainers. We'll be a lot less conspicuous than a bunch of armed guards and Rangers," Ralph shrugged. "Now, you coming with or not?" 

Route 116 was a short route of more plains and meadows, a lot like Route 101 and 102, traveling east from Rustboro City to the foot of Mt. Chimney. A handful of Trainers often came down here to train their Pokemon or find others to prepare for their fight against Roxanne. Ralph led the way down the path, skirting just past the tall grass as they made their way east. 

"This is a bad idea..." Brendan said.  

"You've said that three times already," Ralph said. "There's three of us and one of him, and we've got six Pokemon between us. We'll be fine." 

"Ralph, what is going on with you? You've been silent all evening and now all of a sudden you're completely driven to find this guy," May said.  

"You could've said no, guys." 

"We just want to make sure you're not gonna get yourself killed like when you caught Fiddlesticks," May countered. 

Suddenly, the grass rustled. The three Trainers stopped, exchanging looks, before slowly going into the grass to find the source, with Brendan in the center, Ralph on the left, and May on the right. Slowly, they converged at the same point and found... 

A small, pink Pokemon that looked a lot like a rabbit or something similar, digging at the ground with stubby little arms. It was whispering something to itself as it did, something Ralph couldn't quite pick up on. He produced his Pokedex. 

_Whismur. The Whisper Pokemon. Whismur is very timid. If it starts to cry loudly, it becomes startled by its own crying and cries even harder. When it finally stops crying, the Pokémon goes to sleep, all tired out._  

"Good God, that scared the crap out of me," Ralph said quietly. He slowly rose up, turning around to leave, but then Simurgh sneezed, a small ember coming out of his beak and striking the Whismur in the back. It promptly whirled around, spotting all four of them. 

And then, it screamed. 

Ralph's mind immediately shut down as the screaming reached a kind of high pitch he dearly wished it wouldn't go, and as a result his head became so full of the noise he clutched at his ears, trying to drown out the noise. His head began ringing in tune with the scream, and the resultant pressure on his temples was beginning to squeeze his brain like a vice. His vision swam and blurred, and Ralph stumbled backward, trying to maintain his balance, but fell back as he tripped over his own feet, and all he could do was scrunch his eyes shut, make himself small, and pray that the sound would  _just go away._  

And after what seemed like eternity, the screaming blood and pressure in his ears lessened, and he could hear the sound of someone talking, trying to wrench his hands off his ears, but he was so locked into his position they gave up, before someone poked him a couple of times on the forehead. Ralph opened one eye, and saw the worried face of May looking down at him.  

"-ou okay, Ralph?" 

Ralph opened both eyes, and lifted his hands. The sound was gone, his stomach had mostly settled, and the infernal pink  _thing_ that had caused it was also gone as well. May, Brendan, and Simurgh were all looking at him, wondering what just happened to make their friend react in such a way. Looking down at himself, Ralph found he'd gone full fetal position from the sound, and a handful of Trainers on the Route were staring at him. Mumbling. Judging. 

Ralph couldn't get up off his feet fast enough and immediately tore off down the Route, Brendan and May calling after him. It was the least he could do to get him time by himself to process everything. And that mostly meant finding the nearest tree and pounding his head against it, trying to stop the hot stream of tears going down his face. It had been the first time since middle school he'd had a reaction that bad to sound, and it apparently was so bad that May and Brendan had to see him that way. 

He hated it. He hated  _himself._ Even worlds away from home, this stupid goddamn thing still had a grasp on him, and it looked like he'd never be able to escape it.   

"Chic?" He felt something pecking against his ankle. Simurgh had followed him all the way down the trail, through several patches of tall grass. Obviously he was worried about him, too.  

Ralph took a moment to wipe his eyes, then took his water bottle and took a swipe at his face to clear the tear tracks. "Sorry about that, Simurgh. I didn't mean to leave you behind." 

"Torchic?" Simurgh looked back at the way he'd run. Ralph figured he wanted to regroup with Brendan and May.  

Ralph shook his head again, picking up Simurgh to maybe get a little comfort out of the warmth in his feathers. "It's okay, buddy. We'll deal with them in a minute. Right now, we need to figure out where our Team Magma friend ran off to." 

"Chic?" 

"I know it's not ideal, but like I said: we're not here to fight, just to scout the enemy. There is a difference-" Ralph said, carrying on through the last bit of grass. But whatever else was supposed to come out of his mouth died on his lips when he saw an old man pacing around at the foot of the mountain, looking just as frazzled as he did a minute ago. "Well, I hope that's just Alzheimer's...let's go." 

Ralph quickly came out of the grass, scanning the ridges in search of something to show they were on the right track. Upon finding nothing, he made his way over to the old man. "Excuse me, sir! What's the fuss about?" 

The man turned to him. Despite his age and white hair, his face and skin was weathered in the way only many years against the elements could, and despite his beer belly his arms still boasted power. "We were just out on our walk, Peeko and I, when we were attacked by an odd thug..." 

"Was this guy dressed in red, maybe?" 

"Yes, that's the man! The scoundrel made off with my darling Peeko! Where are yoooooou? Peeeeeeeeko!"  

Ralph winced again, the man's stentorian voice much louder than he was expecting. Obviously, they were on the right track, and if Brendan and May hadn't caught up to him yet, chances were likely they had doubled back to alert the Rangers like Brendan wanted to. This was a good thing, but given he had no idea when they would show up, they'd be wasting precious moments, especially with hostages involved. And as much as he'd like not to think about it, a part of his mind was starting to egg him into settling this himself, just to recover the face he'd lost with that display further back on the route. 

And wounded pride won out over sensible decisions. 

"Caution to the wind, then." 

* * *

The inside of the tunnel appeared to be mostly made of granite or slate, given the dark, relatively smooth walls of the tunnel. There was also a strange haze hanging in the air, distorting the area slightly. He attributed it to the fact that they were technically inside a volcano, and it was probably heat. Being from the desert, it was something he'd seen a fair bit. He put Simurgh down, following the tunnel north and then to the east, where the Team Magma mook was. There was also a Wingull next to him, a small white seagull-esque Pokemon that he'd sometimes seen flying around in the sky in Littleroot Town.  

"What, are you coming? Come and get some, then!" The mook said. He was wearing a red hoodie with a stylized black M on the chest, and red pants.  

Ralph mused briefly on why the leader of this band apparently had no fashion sense, then stepped forward himself, cracking his knuckles. "I'm only telling you once: the Wingull and the parts. Hand them over." 

The Magma member slowly turned around, still holding onto the package and the Wingull, but suddenly found a large wall of rock in his way, trapping him. And apparently, that was the moment he realized he was trapped. He turned to the Wingull. "You! Do something!" The Wingull promptly smacked it in the head with one of its wings, then hit him with a blast of water to the face for good measure. "Grah, keelhaul it all! This hostage Pokemon turned out to be worthless! And to think I made a getaway...in this cave to nowhere!" 

"Yeah, I fail to see how this is my problem," said Ralph. "Simurgh, lock and load!"  

"Chic?" Simurgh didn't hide behind his leg like every other time, but he also didn't go in front for the fight, either. He just merely looked up at him, wondering if his Trainer was actually alright with everything happening to him of late. 

"Simurgh, it's fine. Just like last time. You're the left guard, I'm the quarterback. Stop him before he gets to me, okay?" Ralph lied. Torchic took a few minutes, but then slowly made his way forward, ruffling his feathers. Ralph smiled. This Blind Side strategy was definitely a step in the right direction. 

"And now you're going to battle me? Really?" The Magma grunt rolled his eyes, then produced his own Poke Ball and threw it out. "I choose you! Poochyena!" Another Poochyena appeared, snarling at Simurgh. 

Simurgh promptly reversed his decision and went back to trembling behind Ralph's leg.  

"Simurgh, come on! We don't have time for this!" Ralph said. His mind raced, trying to come up with some other motivation, and saw the Wingull next to the mook. An idea hit him. "If you won't do it for me, do it for that Wingull! Her trainer's outside right now, looking for her!" 

Simurgh actually considered it, even though he was still shivering against him. Eventually, he went back out, scratching at the ground.  

"Poochyena, use Bite!" The Poochyena charged, fangs bared as it tried to pounce on Simurgh. 

"Dodge and then Ember!" Simurgh managed to get away, firing an Ember over its shoulder. The Ember was well off the target, and almost gave Ralph a third nostril. "Whoa!" 

"Stay on him, Poochyena! Tackle!" The Poochyena changed course easily, managing to pin Simurgh to the ground.  

"Shake him off, Simurgh!" Simurgh managed to roll over somewhat, but the Poochyena stayed on, gnawing at Simurgh's head. This battle had already gone belly-up on him, and he couldn't even attempt a swap for Fiddlesticks lest he be at a type disadvantage. He was starting to see the reason why so many other Trainers had multiple Pokemon, but between all the other Pokemon he'd seen, none of them really gelled with him. And the less he could say about Whismurs, the better. 

He happened to look away for a moment, and just in the corner of his eye, he saw a few more pink figures huddled around the corner behind them, watching the fight. More of those stupid Whismurs had shown up. Stupid Whismurs with their stupid screams and causing uproars for no good- 

"Wait a minute-!" Ralph quickly seized on the only chance he had. Thankfully, Simurgh was facing in the right direction, but he needed to act now lest the Poochyena finish him now. "Simurgh! Growl!"  

Simurgh gave him a look that said "are you nuts?"  

"Just trust me!" 

Simurgh shook a few more times, trying to find some leeway from the Poochyena trying to chomp his feathers off, and finally, he managed to turn himself into the Poochyena's face, and gave the loudest battle chirp he could as Ralph took a knee and covered his ears.  

It had the (un)desired effect. The Whismurs, not expecting such a loud noise, especially in the confined spaces of the tunnel, and promptly began running around, screaming. The louder noise completely shut down the fight, as the Poochyena was startled enough for Simurgh to shove the wolf-like Pokemon off of him.  

"Now use Ember!" Ralph shouted, hoping he could be heard around the screams and the feeling of acid churning in his stomach. One was bad enough, but multiples were making it even worse, even around his covered ears. 

Simurgh had also managed to brace himself for the audio assault, and but he looked at Ralph, apparently not having heard him in the cacophany. Ralph quickly took one hand off and pointed at the Poochyena, trying to charade his previous order. Simurgh quickly caught on, and fired another ember stream at it. The Poochyena, unable to take much more punishment from both the Whismurs and Simurgh, promptly keeled over. 

Ralph was not going to last much longer, his vision already starting to fill with stars. As the Magma grunt tried to run in the chaos, Ralph stuck out his foot, tripping the man and knocking him out with a swift hiking boot to the head. The package fell out of his hands, and Ralph quickly scooped it up while pointing at the Whismurs. But Simurgh had already moved ahead of him, charging headlong through the noise and fired even more Embers at the source of the screaming. The Whismurs promptly ran off out of the tunnel, still kicking up a ruckus.  

With the battle and noise over with, the Wingull promptly took off down the cave, probably to that old man Ralph met outside. Simurgh returned to Ralph, the Trainer's head a mass of pain and his digestive system ready to go from fourth gear to reverse. Ralph didn't say anything, just nodded at his Torchic, and Simurgh led the way through the cave. As they stepped through the threshold back onto Route 116, he saw a mass of people running towards him. 

"Beat him!"  

That was the only thing Ralph could say before he finally leaned forward against the wall, vomited onto the ground, and directed himself to fall unconscious on the other side as shadows and stars swallowed his vision. 

* * *

Ralph slowly came back to his senses, someone dabbing away at his forehead with a cloth and someone poking away at his hand. The cloth was being held by Rustboro City's Nurse Joy, and the poking away of his hand was Simurgh. Upon seeing Ralph coming back around, Simurgh chirped triumphantly and began making a space for himself in the crook of his arm. "Chic! Chic!" 

"Simurgh...hey...what happened?" 

"According to your friends, you set off the local Whismur colony to flush out that Team Magma crook," Nurse Joy explained. "Thankfully, the Pokemon Rangers were ready to catch him when he came out, but then you came out, threw up on the ground, and then fainted. So they sent for me to come treat you." 

Ralph sighed. Once again, his illness had beaten him, but at least this time it was in the name of justice, so it wasn't as bad as just a rare happenstance in tall grass. "Sounds about right, I guess." 

"You're very brave. That, or incredibly reckless," Joy added. Her tone wasn't chiding, but it was hardly congratulatory, like a mother talking to her son about dodging a high-speed collision on the road. "Whismur screams have been recorded to reach around 120 decibels, and in such a packed space, that noise would've been even louder. Your eardrums could very well have ruptured, and you'd be in even more pain, to say the least of your injuries." 

"I bet," Ralph said ruefully. He quickly looked around the crowd of people gathering around him, and saw the white hat and red bow of Brendan and May in the crowd, talking with the old man he'd seen in front of the cave. He started to get up, but his head suddenly weighed about a fourth of what it did a second ago, and he sat down lest he pick up where he left off in clearing out his stomach.  

"Just rest for a few minutes. Your sense of balance is going to be on the fritz for some time," Joy said. "If you need to talk to someone, tell me who and I'll bring them to you." 

"Brendan and May. Look for a guy with a white ski cap and a girl with a red bow in her hair. Look like rabbit ears, you can't miss them."  

Nurse Joy nodded, quickly walking back to the crowd. After a couple of minutes, she returned with Brendan and May, looking very worried. 

"Are you okay, Ralph?" was the first thing out of May's mouth. 

"Been better," Ralph quipped.  

"Joshua was just here, too. We were trying to find you when we heard the screaming from the tunnel, so we went to go check it out," Brendan added. "Lo and behold, there's you unconscious in front of the tunnel. Joshua goes in and deals with the Whismur to calm them down and comes out with the Team Magma guy. He looked pretty angry." 

"Bet he would, after our talk yesterday. So, what now?" 

"I think an explanation is in order," May said, her tone becoming a bit sharper than usual. "Ralph, I know you were surprised by that Whismur you found in the tall grass, but there was no need for you to run off like that. At the very least, you could tell us why." 

Ralph looked away. "It's...not something I like to talk about." 

"What do you mean?" asked Brendan. "You can tell us, buddy, we won't judge." 

Ralph could tell them no. He could just say, "it's just a thing I deal with." But with Brendan and May staring expectantly at them, it was becoming harder to rationalize the decision. So, he took a deep breath and finally let the dam burst. "I have a mental condition." 

"A mental condition?" 

"It's called Asperger's Syndrome. There's a lot of things that that entails, but I think the pertinent one you might want to know right now is that people with Asperger's are hypersensitive to certain high-pitched noises." 

"Oh...oh, wait, is that why you had that big deal at the start of the route?" Brendan asked.  

"Loud, high-pitched noises are like my kryptonite. If it goes long enough, it actually makes me physically ill," Ralph explained. "You ever get stuck in a gym full of ten-year-olds screaming battle chants at each other? It took my parents twenty minutes to take the hint and take me outside for some fresh air."  

"Oh, Arceus, Ralph...I'm sorry, I didn't mean to..." May began. 

"Nah, May, it's not your fault. If anything, it's mine for not telling you sooner," said Ralph, waving it off. "I just...this thing has been equal parts blessing and curse for me. Some days I can get by without any trouble. Other days it's a miracle I can get my clothes on in the morning without screwing it up. It's that inconsistency that makes me wish I was normal and not getting bothered by these things that other people aren't. At least, not to the degree..." 

Brendan grinned and extended his hand, stopping Ralph's monologue. Ralph took it, and slowly he made his way back to his feet. Everything was still spinning slightly, but he was certain he'd be able to keep his footing. "So you have more to deal with than the rest of us. No big deal. As-per-whatever or not, you're still our friend, Ralph. We'll help you however we can. You just gotta ask." 

"Well, asking is always the hard part. I've always wanted to be able to handle things on my own," said Ralph.  

"Of course you do. I'm just saying, nobody should have to deal with their issues by themselves. I'm here if you need me for anything. Same for May. Right?" Brendan asked. 

"Of course," May nodded. "We're Trainers, Ralph. We look after each other." 

Ralph looked from Brendan to May, then down at Simurgh as he clawed at his feet. The Torchic gave a chirp, showing his own affirmation to Brendan's words. So, Ralph quickly picked Simurgh up, ruffling his partner's feathers. "Thanks guys. So, what exactly do we do now?" 

"Well, we still have to figure out how to get to Dewford Town to get the next Badge. It's getting late, too, so I figure we may as well go stay at the Pokemon Center for the night and tackle that tomorrow."  

Ralph nodded, but then something fell out of his jacket: a familiar Devon package. He quickly picked it up. "Actually guys, I think we have one more stop to make in town before we turn in tonight." 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, that should conclude the Rustboro City arc. Actually, there is one more thing, but you know, semantics.
> 
> Anyway, concerning that announcement I mentioned in my editor's notes? Well, this story now has an askblog just like Isis has for Brienne!
> 
> ...I totally didn't make one just for Ralph because of that, shut up. Anyway, here's the link.  
> http://ask-the-pokemon-hero.tumblr.com/
> 
> Next Time: One final stop in Rustboro City, and then it's sailing, sailing, over the ocean blue!


	8. The Stroke

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The gang moves out to Dewford Town, and Ralph gets another reality check.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What up! The ballad continues!
> 
> B.A. in English? Check.  
> Two months vacation? Check.  
> Job opportunites...eh, I'm working on it. That was what mostly kept me from finishing this at the end of August like I wanted it.
> 
> But, three days isn't too terrible. Ready to roll? So am I. Let's do this!

Ralph, May, and Brendan made their way back down Route 116, day having officially turned to night. As Ralph tried to look up at the stars in between looking forward to make sure he didn’t make himself sick by looking at one thing too long. Nothing in those stars looked familiar to him. At all.  If there were any shapes to be found here that he may have found familiar, he couldn’t tell, but then the stars would come back and he’d hang his head and close his eyes, trying to will his stomach into keeping down whatever pizza he’d already eaten he had left.

Eventually, they managed to reach the outskirts of Rustboro City once again, and happened to find their scientist acquaintance pacing nervously on the street, waiting. He looked up and dashed over, bouncing on the balls of his feet. “Well? How did it go?”

“Got ‘em,” Ralph said, holding the package up. It was about as much effort as he wanted to waste with all the walking.

“Oh, you did! Thank you!” The scientist quickly snatched it from Ralph’s hand. “I know! Have a Great Ball as my thanks!” The scientist dug into his lab coat and brought out another blue Poke Ball.

“Thanks,” Ralph mumbled. He shrank the ball and put it in his jacket pocket for later.

The scientist then dug out a yellow device, square and oddly reminiscent of Ralph’s Game Boy Advance SP, also somewhere in his little brother’s bedroom, and flipped it open, staring at something on a screen for a moment. He quickly put it away. “I have something else for you. Could you all come with me? It won’t take long, I promise.”

Ralph looked at May and Brendan, who merely shrugged at him. And he did as well. “Sure. We got time.”

The scientist led the way down the road, the buildings around them lighting up in the nighttime transition, into the northwest part of the town. There, standing tall against a handful of other stores in the area, was a large three-story building with a large courtyard. It almost reminded Ralph of the local hospital, but instead of a large fountain in front of the entrance, there were two large stone slabs with etchings in them.

They entered through the doors to the polite greetings of the receptionist at the desk nearby, and made their way up the stairs. On the second floor, there were several other lab technicians and scientists. Some of them still at their workstations, typing away at computers, others were gathering their belongings to turn in for the end of the day. Ralph looked over at a nearby clock, showing 7:00 PM. Rather late for quitting time, but maybe he was missing something.

But they walked on, barely managing to avoid the rush of people heading out, and made their way up the stairs to the much-more-empty third floor, which had all the trappings of a presidential office. Couch and table for one-on-one meetings, and an L-shaped desk where a gray-haired man in a business suit was attending to some last minute business on the far end. But there was also the glass cases full of what appeared to be rocks in the center of the room and he caught what looked like another one in the corner of another part of the room, just barely out of sight. Ralph thought about what on earth the connection could be to this place, or even if there was one.

“This is the top floor of Devon Corporation,” said the scientist. “Our president’s office is on this floor. Could you wait here a moment?” The scientist made his way over to the desk, spoke quietly to the man there, and then returned. “Could you come with me? The president would like a word with you.”

Ralph quickly spat into his hands and ran it through his hair, trying to look at least a little presentable. His hair could get pretty wild after a while, despite it being so short, and he quickly saw May do a similar thing herself, trying to use the glare of the case as a reflection. And so they went over to the desk, where a small little golden name plaque on the desk presented the words _Alexander I. Stone, President._

“So, you’re our little band of heroes, I see?” Mr. Stone said. He was a man in his late sixties, with short gray hair and wrinkles across his face. It vaguely reminded Ralph of his late grandfather, gone only a handful of months since he first came to Hoenn. “I’m Mr. Stone, the president of Devon Corporation.”

“Ralph Wingates, sir,” said Ralph.

“Chic!” Simurgh chirped happily.

“I’m May Kaori,” said May.

“I’m Brendan Birch,” said Brendan.

“Pleased to meet you all,” said Mr. Stone. “It seems I have a lot to thank you three for. After all, you not only saved our employees not once, but twice! Being such reliable Trainers, I was wondering if you could do a favor for me.” He opened one of his desk drawers and held out a sealed envelope. “I need this letter delivered to a man named Steven. He’s currently in Dewford Town.”

“…we’re headed out that way, actually,” Ralph said. “We could definitely take to him when we’re there. I mean, once we found a way there-“

“Excellent!” Mr. Stone said, not caring the rest of Ralph’s statement. “Of course, I want you to know I’m a president you can trust. I’d never be so mean as to ask a favor for nothing in return. So that’s why I’m willing to give you all one of these!”

He brought out three square devices identical to the one the scientist had, one red, one blue, and one green, and placed them on the desk.

“Are these-?” Brendan looked like he was about to faint out of happiness.

“Indeed they are. This is the PokéNav Plus, our next-generation smart device sold only here in Hoenn. Consider it a payment in advance and a thank you for your heroism,” Mr. Stone nodded.

Ralph took the red PokéNav Plus and flipped it open. Already, he was reminiscing of days of misbegotten youth, playing Golden Sun in front of the nearest air conditioning vent on hot summer day. “It definitely looks nice. What’s it do?”

“Just about everything, really!” Brendan said excitedly as she snatched up the blue one. May took the remaining green one for herself.

“Well, there are four specific functions of the PokéNav Plus,” Mr. Stone said. “First, there’s the DexNav, which wirelessly connects with your PokéDex to create a profile of all the Pokémon habitats that can be found in your area up to five miles in any direction. Second is the AreaNav, our award-winning map location system and social media platform that allows you to keep in contact with fellow Trainers you meet on your travels. Third is the LeagueNav, which allows you to perform special League functions with other trainers, such as trading Pokémon, at the push of a button and officially sanctioned by the Pokémon League in Ever Grande City. And finally is the BuzzNav, which allows you to tune in to news reports and special programming via Mauville TV.”

“Sweet,” Ralph said. His old flip-phone that he’d gotten second-hand from one of his sisters was absolutely ancient, and no job meant he couldn’t upgrade. For the first time in a long while, he was finally back on the inside track of technology, and it only took nearly getting shouted to death by a bunch of Whismurs. To say things were starting to look up was underselling it.

“I’m counting on all three of you,” said Mr. Stone. “Good luck on your travels!”

The three Trainers nodded and made their way back down into the lower floors.

“Not bad for a day’s work,” said Brendan. “Gym Badges and free tech for stopping thieves? I’d totally call that a positive result.”

“Yes. And now I would like to sleep. My legs feel like the rocks I just pulverized in the Gym,” said Ralph.

* * *

The next morning, Ralph, May, and Brendan were on their way out the door of the Pokémon Center after a hearty breakfast (or extra-hearty, in the case of Ralph). And Ralph was still toying around with his PokéNav Plus, having barely looked up from breakfast since he was in the middle of configuring it so that it ran the way he liked. Being the son of an IT director had its benefits, so figuring out the control scheme wasn’t hard.

“Man, these PokeNav Plus things are sweet,” Ralph said, tapping away at the bottom half of the device. “I spent the entirety of breakfast trying to see what this thing can do. I mean, for a device with only four dedicated functions, it sure does a lot. The BuzzNav in particular’s got some good content. Like Tumblr, only less crazy and more content. And free unlimited data! Seriously, if ‘tons of damage’ isn’t the best three-word phrase in the book, then that certainly would be-oof!”

Ralph had only taken two steps out of the Pokémon Center and bumped into someone in the middle of the road. But while most people would have fallen over onto the ground like they’d walked into a lamppost, this girl merely took a few steps backwards and caught herself easily. Like most people from Hoenn he’d met thus far, he was taller than this girl by a good foot, black-haired clad in a black tank top, khaki shorts, gray shoes with white kneesocks, and some kind of strange anklet around her right leg. And to round it all out, she was clad in an ash-gray shroud. But what was most striking were her eyes. Red eyes were fairly uncommon where Ralph had come from.

"Huh? Whoa! Are we in sync or what! You know, I was just thinking about you! It's great to meet you! ...It is our first real meeting, right? Yeah. That's right. Of course it is!” The girl said, as though they’d been friends for years.

Ralph’s face wrinkled. Not even ten seconds in and this girl was already grating on his nerves in a way only few things could. “And you are?”

“The name's Zinnia. And you... Well, I know _all_ about you. You're Ralph Wingates, of course. You're the guy who beat that Team Magma grunt yesterday evening!" The girl said cheerfully. “Caught him using the local Whismur colony as a trap, huh? Pret-ty clever.”

“Chic?” Simurgh looked up at Ralph questioningly. If Ralph was troubled about this new face, then so was he.

“Well, you’re certainly informed,” Ralph said finally. He was trying to stay cordial, but the annoyance was starting to break through the façade. “But I’m trying to keep a low profile because the last thing I need is another Magma cove looking to settle a score for me on behalf of their buddy. So…could you do me a teensy, tiny little favor, and-“

"Okay, I know, I know. I'll leave it alone. Look, I'm stopping!” Zinnia said, waving it off like accepting a small apology. “But this sure is a _nice_ place, isn't it? Rustboro City. And everybody around here is just so _nice_ , too. Like that friend of yours. ...Oops! _Sorry_. I didn't mean to go on like that.”

Ralph could actually feel the vein pulsing slightly in his temple. “I’m sure you didn’t.”

“We should keep our first meeting short and sweet, don't you think? Until next time, then. Buh-bye!" Zinnia finished, before turning back around and heading on her way down the street towards Route 104 North.

“Who on earth was that?” May asked, finally breaking the awkward silence that had fallen between the two of them.

“I don’t know. But I don’t think I like her all that much,” Ralph said darkly.

* * *

The trio made their way south, crossing back through Route 104 North and back into Petalburg Woods. As fate would have it, the trek through the forest wasn’t quite as long, as Brendan showed them a shortcut via a series of short ledges that crossed the main path headed back the other direction. It was still a long, uneventful trip, as no one had found any Pokémon worth catching on their way. By the time they had re-emerged onto Route 104 South, it was well past noon.

“So, I was wondering if you boys had come up with a plan on how we’re actually getting to Dewford Town?” May asked as they took a break for lunch near the shore.

“I thought you were handling that,” said Ralph. “You’ve had a pretty good handle on our itinerary since we started this thing.”

“Well, we’re all adults here. I was hoping I wouldn’t be figuring everything out all by myself,” May said.

Brendan had taken out his PokéNav Plus, looking at the AreaNav. “I was hoping maybe we could find someone to ferry us across the lake out on Route 103 to Route 110, and then head south, try to find a way via Slateport City.” He traced the path with his finger. “Slateport City’s a major hub for sailors, we’re bound to find someone who’ll let us hitch a ride to Dewford Town.”

“Well, I guess that works,” May said, going over the route on her own PokéNav Plus. “But that’s a long way to go just to reach one destination. That’s at least a few days’ worth of travel...”

Ralph, meanwhile, was on BuzzNav. Quite literally, as a matter of fact. Apparently, the fact that he had beaten a Magma grunt and saved a Wingull in the process was still a major talking point after twelve hours after the fact.

“ _The ‘Peeko-napping’ incident that became a top headline not long ago has been resolved thanks to the brave actions of a young Trainer, 23-year-old Ralph Wingates from Littleroot Town. Peeko’s Trainer_ _, 72-year-old Harland Briney, responded to inquiries that the Trainer in question is a ‘real catch,’ stating that he expects this precocious do-gooder to become a big hit in the future. I’m sure we at HNN will be keeping our eyes on this young hero’s future!_ ”

Brendan looked over Ralph’s shoulder, looking at the report. “Wow, Ralph! You made the news!”

“I’m surprised they’re still talking about it. You’d think there’d be more important news by this point.”

Brendan returned to his original sitting place, when a thought suddenly struck him. “Hey, that guy they mentioned. What was his name? Briney? Doesn’t he live around here?”

Ralph blinked. Yeah, he knew the name Briney. He and May passed his house on their way to Petalburg Woods a few days ago. “Yeah. Why?”

“Well, maybe he can help us with our problem,” Brendan offered. “If he’s got a boat, maybe he could give us a lift to Dewford Town. It seems only fair, seeing as Ralph saved his Pokémon.”

“That’s a great idea!” said May. “If we hurry, maybe we could get into Dewford Town by this evening!”

“That’s also assuming he’ll take us at all, but-” Ralph began, but no sooner had he started getting up than Brendan and May had also gotten up and already started down the road to where Mr. Briney’s house was. “Okay, then.”

Ralph followed May and Brendan down the road back to the shack that they had passed between Petalburg Woods and Petalburg City. The boat was still anchored next to the dock, but strangely enough, the door was open. As the trio of Trainers peeked in through the doorway, they found Mr. Briney chasing Peeko around the nearby _fukatsu_ , a low-height table typically found in Japan. It made Ralph wonder: what could’ve inspired a design only found on an island that had spent so long in cultural isolation in place like Hoenn?

“Hold up, there, lass! Belay that, Peeko!”

Mr. Briney’s voice pulled Ralph back into the present. It was charming to see the Wingull and Mr. Briney run laps around the table, but eventually May came forward, alerting the old sailor to the group’s presence by quickly clearing her throat.

“Ah. Can I help you?” Mr. Briney began, looking over at the people in his house. Then, he found Ralph, trying to hide somewhere behind them but his natural height betraying him. “Oh! If it isn’t Ralph! You’re the one who saved my darling Peeko! Aye, we owe you for that day!”

“Ayup, that’s me,” said Ralph, scratching the back of his neck. “Speaking of which, I was wondering if you could help us. Would you be willing to give us a lift on your boat somewhere?”

“What’s this?” Mr. Briney asked, giving Ralph a steady stare through one eye. “You want to sail with me? What’s this all about, then?”

“We need to find a way to Dewford Town. Someone sent me to deliver their mail to someone there and we don’t know how else we’re getting there,” said Ralph, showing Mr. Briney the letter.

“A letter bound for Dewford? Certainly, that’d be no trouble at all!” Mr. Briney said with a hearty laugh. “Dewford, we’re a-coming! Anchors aweigh! Peeko, we’re setting sail, my darling!” And just like that, Mr. Briney was out the door, with Peeko following, chirping the whole way.

“Well, that was easy,” said Ralph.

“Chic!” Simurgh nodded.

* * *

Mr. Briney’s boat was a small but well-kept thing that cut through the water with ease as they made their way south towards Dewford Town. Mr. Briney manned the wheel while Ralph, May, and Brendan sat on the cushions near the ship’s prow, watching the Hoenn mainland pass by them at breakneck pace, seeing as they were still hugging the coastline. It was oddly soothing, just watching the rest of the continent just pass by before watching Peeko flying gaily alongside the boat.

“Hey, Ralph.”

“Yeah, May?”

“What you said yesterday,” May put away her PokéNav Plus. “About being ‘foreign.’ What did you mean by that? Are you from another region?”

“...what about it?” Ralph asked cautiously.

“I was just curious, that’s all,” May shrugged.

Ralph looked over at Brendan. Brendan merely shrugged at him, having heard the question, before going back to the side of the ship. He wondered if Brendan was the one among them who got seasick, until he saw Brendan’s Mudkip shoot out of the water like a grunion before going back down. Apparently he was giving Mudkip some time out of his Poké Ball to swim in the ocean. Looking up, Mr. Briney was still at the wheel, scanning the seas. If he was listening, Ralph couldn’t tell.

“Well…yes, and no…” Ralph said. “I’m actually from another world.”

May openly stared at him. “…what.”

“Literally, I’m from another world,” Ralph repeated. “At least, that’s the best I can figure. I’m still not sure if I’m dreaming or not.”

“…seriously?” May asked flatly. “Do you have anything that could-“

Ralph dug out his wallet and took out his California driver’s license. May took the small plastic card, trying to find some kind of flaw in it. “Brendan? Do you believe this?”

“Well, my dad believes him,” said Brendan. “I mean, have you ever heard of this California place?”

“No, but…how on earth am I _supposed_ to believe it?” asked May. “I mean, are you like an alien, or something?”

“I have no idea what to refer to myself as at this point. All I remember was getting swooped up by a red and blue blur, blacking out, and waking up in the middle of Route 101,” said Ralph. “I wasn’t kidding when I said I was starting all the way from square one.”

“…well, it does explain a lot of your struggles thus far,” May admitted. “But there are plenty of people who don’t deal with Pokémon on a daily basis, and while it’s uncommon, it’s not unheard of for people to not have heard of some species of Pokémon. Like Ralph’s Phantump, that’s a Pokémon typically only found in Kalos. It’s too unbelievable for Ralph to have never heard of any Pokémon at all until he showed up here from…wherever this ‘California’ place is.”

“Actually, I’ll vouch for him on that one,” Brendan said, hauling Mudkip back onto the boat. “The first thing he did when we offered him a place to sleep at the lab was grab all the literature we had on Pokémon. He didn’t even know what a Pokémon battle was until I showed him a VOD of last year’s semifinals from the Pokémon League.”

May frowned, trying to find something else to point. She eventually handed back Ralph his driver’s license and asked, “So, what kind of world _do_ you come from where there is no Pokémon?”

“Honestly, it’s not much different than this world. Just no chicks that spit fire or ghostly tree stumps,” said Ralph. “But the thing is, I’m still trying to see the connection, if there is one, or if it’s just an act of God. And after talking with Professor Birch, he’s suggested going to see Professor Cozmo in Fallarbor Town.”

“Oh, Professor Cozmo!” said Brendan. “I know him, he’s a friend of Dad’s. He’s one of the world’s best astronomers. Lately he’s been doing some kind of research into meteorites.”

“Meteorites? What for?”

“I don’t know, I only heard pieces of the conversation where I heard it,” Brendan shrugged. “All I know was that he was working with Professor Sycamore, the Pokémon Professor out in Kalos. But why does Dad want you to go talk to him?”

“It’s a theory surrounding two Pokémon named Dialga and Palkia. He didn’t say what they were, just told me their names, and then get my ass to Fallarbor Town, as it were. Quite frankly, the Gyms just feel secondary in my mind right now.”

“LAND HO!”

Ralph jerked a little at the loud bellow from Mr. Briney. The boat slowed as they came into view of a pier leading down into town. It reminded Ralph of Huntington Beach, but smaller and nowhere close to busy. As they coasted in, Mr. Briney joined them on the prow with a rope in hand. “Ahoy! We’ve struck land in Dewford, everyone. I suppose you’ll be heading ashore to deliver that letter to whats-his-name or whatever.”

“Well, if he’s in Dewford Town, there’s not a lot of places he could go. It’s easily one of the smallest towns in Hoenn, even smaller than Littleroot or Oldale Town. We’re bound to pick up his trail once we ask around for a bit,” said Brendan. “Come on. We should go check the Pokémon Center.”

* * *

Dewford Town was indeed very small. The whole town was probably the size of a large shopping center, with a handful of houses scattered up and down the shoreline. There was a shack near the beach, currently closed for whatever reason, and across from the Pokémon Center and the Poké Mart was the Gym. It reminded Ralph of home, so very, very far away, in its small-town charm and compact-ness. Even though the Pokémon Center looked like every other Pokémon Center he’d been to thus far, even that felt smaller.

Brendan approached the counter where Nurse Joy was standing. “Hey, Nurse Joy. Could you do me and my friends a solid?”

“Oh? Depends on what it is,” Joy said. Ralph noted her accent was rather different compared to the others.

“We’re looking for a man named Steven. He might have come into town recently. Do you know of anyone like that?”

“…well, I do know a man named Steven does come by now and again. Most of the time he’s either visiting Brawly or looking for rare stones in Granite Cave. I don’t know if he’s actually here, though. You could try Granite Cave, but I’m not making any promises.”

“Granite Cave, huh?” asked Ralph. “And where is that?”

“It’s about twenty minutes northwest. Just follow the shore and you’ll find it easily enough.”

Ralph checked his PokéNav Plus. Just past 4:00.

“What do you want to do, Ralph? Challenge the Gym first, or go check out Granite Cave?” asked May.

“I think we’ve got time. We can check Granite Cave first and if he’s not there, then that’s that. I’d rather look and not find him than not look and miss him.”

Ralph led the way out of the Center and up the coast, following the sand up the road back towards Route 106. The sun was already starting to set in front of them, painting the sky in reds and blues and oranges that only a sunset on the beach could ever do. Though he didn’t say as much when May asked him, Ralph did like the beach. Few things in the world looked quite so pretty as a beach, especially this late in the day, and hearing crashing waves always reminded him of the handful of times he’d went on vacation with his family there.

_Man, what is up with me? I’ve spent so much time wishing I could be away from home again, and now that I’ve left, it’s all I can think about._

“Oh, hey! We’re here!”

Ralph looked away from the horizon to see the opening of a cave in front of him. May and Brendan were already making their way in. Thankfully, there was enough light outside to show the way through the cave, so Ralph didn’t need to make a flashlight of his PokéNav Plus. But unfortunately, there was someone else there.

In fact, there were a lot of people in the cave as well.

Team Aqua grunts, all of them.

“Oh, _fuck._ ” The soft but heavy curse fell out of Ralph’s mouth like a dinner plate on a one-way trip to the floor.

“There’s so many…” said May.

“Yeah, I’m thinking he’s either not here right now or he’s got his hands full. We might just want to let these guys go about their business,” said Brendan. “All in favor, say aye.”

“Aye.”

“I am already leaving,” said Ralph, turning on his heel. But as he took another step, something caught his foot, and he stumbled and fell ungracefully onto the stone floor. “Ow! Motherf-“

“You okay?” May asked, already trying to help him up.

“Yeah, I just tripped on something,” Ralph replied, disentangling his foot on whatever it was he had tripped on. Said thing, however, was actually alive, as it shook itself off and turned around to face the group. It was a small thing about the size of his other Pokémon at the moment, just under a foot tall, quadruped with blue eyes. It tilted its head with a small sound of metal on rock.

Ralph immediately took out his Pokédex.

_Aron. The Iron Ore Pokémon. To make its body, Aron feeds on iron ore that it digs from mountains. Occasionally, it causes major trouble by eating bridges and rails. Aron has a body of steel. With one all-out charge, this Pokémon can demolish even a heavy dump truck. The destroyed dump truck then becomes a handy meal for the Pokémon._

“Aron, huh? It definitely looks like something I could work with,” said Ralph, putting it away.

“Hey, you want it, you can stick around. I just don’t want to get any more involved with these guys than you’ve already gotten,” Brendan said, putting up his hands.

“Don’t worry, it won’t take long.”

Brendan and May made their way out of the cave while he quickly went through the Aron’s information. “Steel/Rock, huh? Great defensive combination, but nothing that’ll faze me. Simurgh, think you’re up for a little extra practice before we take on the Gym?”

“Chic.” Simurgh nodded and slowly stepped forward to meet the Aron.

“Attaboy, Simurgh,” said Ralph. “Let’s open up with an Ember!”

Simurgh unleashed another hail of embers from its mouth. Most found their mark against the small Pokémon’s egg-shaped head, but the Aron barely flinched under the assault. In fact, right after absorbing the hit, it promptly charged Simurgh and headbutted him, sending the Torchic skidding away towards the mouth of the cave.

“Ember again! Keep drawing him this way!” said Ralph, taking a moment to reposition himself. The Aron apparently didn’t like what he said, as it promptly smacked a rock in his direction. Ralph ducked as the pebble shattered on impact with the wall. “Geez! What is it about me today!?”

The Aron ignored the Trainer’s outcry, instead focusing on Simurgh. It zig-zagged across the cavern-floor before launching another headbutt. Simurgh dodged it this time, but just barely. Ralph knew he’d need to be quick to avoid getting run out of town by this diminutive juggernaut.

“Use Sand-Attack! Try to make him miss!”

Torchic did an about-face and immediately started kicking sand from the shore into the Aron’s face. The Aron growled, trying to seek out its opponent before charging wildly in one direction. Said direction wasn’t anywhere close to Ralph or Simurgh, in fact, it smacked into the wall with a loud clanging noise, like someone had dropped a piece of steel rebar on concrete, and flopped onto its belly.

Ralph knew an opportunity when he saw one. “Poké Ball, go!” He threw his Poké Ball at the Aron. It bounced off the one raised spine on its back and absorbed it into itself.

Once. Twice. Thrice. Ding!

“That’s a good catch!” said Ralph, picking up his new Aron. “Good job, Simurgh!”

“Chic!” Simurgh beamed.

* * *

Ralph and Simurgh made their way back into Dewford Town to meet up with Brendan and May at the Pokémon Center. However, Brendan was nowhere to be found and May was currently at the phone station similar to where he’d had his previous conversation with Professor Birch. Rather than announce his return to her, Ralph instead went to Nurse Joy to quickly rejuvenate Simurgh and his new Aron, and then took a seat an empty table, summoning the Aron.

The Aron was much more docile now, although compared to Simurgh, it was clearly more confident, even as the two sat down together for the first time as friends. Unlike Simurgh, it didn’t shy away from other Pokémon as their Trainers (the few there were) came through the doorway. In fact, it watched them pass by, not necessarily acting aggressive towards them but more like sizing them up, and then after a moment it would walk back to Ralph looking quite pleased with itself. It was akin to thinking “I could take him.”

“You’re certainly a spunky one. I’d almost call you cocky considering you still attacked us while blinded,” said Ralph. “Very punch first, ask questions while punching. I do appreciate a full assault strategy, but come on.” The Aron made a kind of motion with its head like it was considering it, but not really, almost like he would. “You deserve a name that kind of hints at that, don’t you? Something like ‘Leonidas’ or-“

The Aron made a scoffing noise, glaring at him.

“I guess not,” Ralph said. “Well, okay, we can work with that. Something like…Rockjaw, or-“

Another noise.

“Sagax?”

Noise.

“Come on, what am I missing here? Work with me, buddy.”

The Aron looked over at someone for a moment. Following the Iron Ore Pokémon’s gaze, he noticed it was looking at May, still chatting away with her partner. Upon looking back, it rolled its blue eyes in its head, and then made some kind of motion almost like…shy? What?

Then a thought struck Ralph, and he dug out his Pokédex, and quickly went over the article on Aron. As he compared the picture to the one in front of him, he realized what was happening. “Oh, I get it! You’re a girl Aron!” The Aron bobbed its head. “Geez, that explains the pushback…well, if punching first is your MO, then I see no reason I can’t call you Vi. You like Vi?”

Aron nodded, a bit more enthusiastic this time. Ralph grinned.

“Vi it is, then.”

May did eventually stop talking to what Ralph assumed was her father, but then she immediately called her mother back in Littleroot Town, at which point Ralph immediately decided it was probably best to go challenge the Gym by himself. He would’ve liked to ask ahead, to know where they were facing going in. But it was getting late in the day, and Ralph figured it would be better to at least take a shot now while he still had time. So, he packed up Vi and made his way out of the Center and down south towards the Gym.

The inside of the Gym looked like a gym in the regular sense. Row upon row of exercise machine against the wall, dumbbells to weights the size of hubcaps, and the east wall was a great big wall of windows, the reds and blues of sunset turning to indigos and purples of twilight. And standing in the middle of the raised arena was a man in the middle of doing squats. He had wild blue hair, dressed in black and orange athletic shirt, blue cargo shorts, and, of course, sunglasses on his head.

This guy was probably Brawly. And to Ralph, this guy screamed absolute douche _._ And that smile he was wearing just seemed to seal the whole package. He just wanted to smack that smile clean off of his face, and he was just in a position to do it.

“So. What’s your name, Trainer?” Brawly asked, stopping his squats.

_Challenge time. Here we go._ “My name is Ralph Franklin Wingates! Leader Brawly of the Dewford Town Gym, I have come to challenge you!”

Brawly didn’t stop smiling. “Well, someone’s feeling confident. Anyway, I’m Brawly! Dewford’s Gym Leader! …but you already knew that. I’ve been churned in the rough waves of these parts, and I’ve grown tough using Granite Cave as my training ground, as well as using the equipment in this Gym. So you want to challenge me? Let me see what you’re made of!”

Ralph produced one of his Poké Balls. “Bring it!”

Brawly grinned. “Alright then! You know the rules, right? Two-on-two Pokémon battle with no time limit, and challenger gets the first move!”

“Alright! Vi, it’s showtime!” said Ralph, throwing the Ball out.

“A-ron!” The Aron appeared, scuffing the field with one of its stubby legs.

“Aron, huh,” said Brawly. “Bold move. But let’s see if it pays off! Go, Machop!”

Ralph visibly felt the blood drain out of his face as a gray humanoid Pokémon about the size of a small toddler appeared opposite Vi. He didn’t need his Pokédex for this one, he knew this a Fighting-Type Pokémon.

Fighting.

This was a Fighting Pokémon Gym.

Oh, dear _God_ , he’d screwed up.

“Begin!” shouted the referee.

“Machop! Karate Chop!”

“Dodge it, Vi!” Not nearly enough time. Even though Vi managed to avoid the worst as she shot to the left, the overhand chop from the Machop rang against Vi’s head and sent her right to the ground. She’d survived a one-hit KO, but just barely. “Quick! Use Headbutt, catch him on the recovery!”

Vi managed to get to her feet and flung herself in a wild charge against the Machop.

“Use Seismic Toss!”

The Machop expertly planted its feet and caught the Pokémon almost three times its weight in mid-air, then flung it backward in a beautiful-looking suplex. Vi slumped to the ground, unable to fight on.

_“Aron is unable to battle! The winner is Machop!_ ”

“Ooh, tough break,” said Brawly. “I give you points for having the balls to go for a battle with a double type disadvantage, though!”

Ralph could feel the frustration already heating the blood in his face and ears to that of a good blast furnace as he called back Vi. But he wasn’t going to give up. And even though he knew the jab from Brawly was meant to be light-hearted, now he _really_ wanted to start busting some heads.

“Simurgh. Get in there.”

“Chic?” Simurgh looked up at him. Something was troubling him, but whether it was Ralph or Simurgh himself wasn’t clear.

“I’m fine, Simurgh. Get in there!” said Ralph, a bit harder this time.

Simurgh wasn’t convinced, but went out anyway.

“Begin!”

“Okay! Machop, use Bulk Up!”

“Sand-Attack, Simurgh! Don’t let him get an angle on us!”

Simurgh immediately went right into kicking up sand into the Machop’s eyes. Meanwhile, Machop did a few rapid-fire exercises before smacking a hand into a fist, like he’d just gotten through watching _Pacific Rim._ He raised his arms, blocking most of the incoming sand.

“Now Karate Chop!”

“Dodge, Simurgh!” Simurgh shot hard to the right, managing to avoid the Machop’s strike. “Now, Ember!” Simurgh exhaled, unleashing his fireball stream at the Machop. The attack smacked against his body, and one ember managed to knock his head back. “There we go!”

Then, the Machop’s head shot forward. He didn’t look injured. In fact, he looked even stronger than before!

“…huh?”

“Too slow,” grinned Brawly. “Now! Seismic Toss!”

The Machop reached out its arms, grabbed Simurgh by the head, and proceeded to use a giant swing on him, throwing him to the other side of the arena. As Simurgh started to get back up, the Machop was already upon him.

“Karate Chop!”

The strike fell. And so did Simurgh.

“ _Torchic is unable to battle! The winner is Machop and Brawly!_ ”

Ralph hung his head. He’d lost.

No, he hadn’t lost.

That implied he’d had a shot in the first place.

He didn’t lose.

He got _fucking spanked._

A hand appeared in his vision. Ralph looked up and saw Brawly, still with that douchey surfer smile on his face as he extended his hand for the post-match handshakes. “Rough match. But I think you’ll do better tomorrow.”

Ralph didn’t even bother answering him, but he still shook the hand all the same, handed Brawly his prize money, and returned Simurgh to his Poké Ball. His mind was full of a thousand different thoughts as he left the Gym, most of them angry. Some of them were directed towards Brawly, but mostly it was towards himself. This was a loss, but it was the worst kind of loss.

The loss that was easily avoidable. The loss that shouldn’t happen.

The door opened, and as he was walking out, May walked in, no doubt here for her challenge against Brawly. “Ralph? …you okay?”

Ralph said nothing.

“Ralph?”

“What!?” Ralph snapped.

May was silent, stepping to the side with hands up to let him pass. Ralph blinked, realizing what he’d just done, and eventually shook his head and made his way to the Pokémon Center.

“Friend of yours?” Brawly asked from the mat, tending to the few wounds Machop had.

* * *

Ralph downed another shot of milk, his glass thumping against the table as he stared hard into the other slice of pizza in front of him. The bubbling in his stomach hadn’t gone down at all, and frustration was still running pretty hot in his veins. And the worst of it was, he figured he’d have gotten over it by this point. But this loss stung. It stung a lot worse than just losing out to Brendan the first time they fought on Route 102.

He knew it was kind of a bad idea to go in on the Gym battle blind, without asking Brendan for advice or letting May go first to scout the opposition. But it wasn’t like he was going to get advice from someone just outside the door who’d just say “Yo! Champ in the making!” and give him tips on fighting Brawly, so he figured he’d do it anyway. The first call advantage turned out to be a curse when he sent out Vi, which gave Brawly a free win, and instead of going with Fiddlesticks, he went with Simurgh, who got his tail feathers handed to him.

Fiddlesticks had the advantage of being Ghost-type, so he would at least be able to stand a better chance than either of them! How did he completely forget that!?

And the worst of it was, Ralph was no stranger to getting his ass kicked even before he came to Hoenn. He’d played his fair share of League of Legends. He’d had games where he’d made boneheaded decisions, fed the enemy team, and ended up losing. But usually this feeling of being tilted was temporary. Getting a bite to eat or drink or going to the bathroom usually allowed the feeling to pass and he could get back into the next game relatively fresh.

But the salt was major this time. He was so full of salt he’d fill the capital of Utah. He was so full of salt his skin tone may as well have the appearance of cottage cheese. And the biggest thing of all was that he had no reason to be. Play stupid games, win stupid prizes, or so the saying went. But that was the thing about hitting rock bottom. Even if there was nowhere to go but up, it still sucked.

“Yo.”

Ralph looked up, noticing Brawly had shown up with May. She was carrying a small object in her hand, a blue boxing glove with an orange dot to represent a thumb. Once again, she’d breezed right through the fight and earned her badge, and here he was, consoling himself in pure calories after one loss.

Salt on top of salt.

“Ralph, right? The guy with the Torchic and Aron?” Brawly asked.

Ralph mumbled an affirmation, not even wanting to get back to eating now that they were here. Brawly, undeterred, merely pulled up a chair and sat down across from him. “First of all, I just wanted to make sure you were okay. I’ve seen enough battles to know when someone’s really bummed over losing a battle. You okay?”

Ralph mumbled something again. Brawly didn’t seem bothered. “Not much of a talker, huh. That’s fine. I’ll just be brief and be on my way. From what I can tell, you’ve definitely got the stuff to be a great Trainer. Your Pokémon seem to trust you, at least. But when I battled you, I could tell there was something eating you, and it came across in your commands. Pokémon are a lot more in tune with their Trainer’s emotions than a lot of people give them credit for. If their Trainer’s mind isn’t on the fight, they can get confused.”

Ralph, still silent, merely looked at him over his clasped hands, trying to hide his emotions while trying to get a read on Brawly. Despite the lecture, he still had that carefree smile he had during the battle right before he dropped the hammer on Simurgh, but Asperger’s didn’t give him much more than that. Hopefully Brawly wouldn’t be able to get the impression that, behind the hands, Ralph was seething internally, and in some dark corner of his mind, he imagined driving that surfer boy smile into the table just to watch him bleed.

“So what’s on your mind, bud? You wanna tell me?”

Ralph wanted to say, “who’re you calling bud, pal?”, just so he could revisit the whole exchange from Ocean’s Eleven. But he still said nothing.

To his credit, Brawly chose not to pry. “Aight. Tell you what. As long as you’re here in Dewford Town, why don’t you come training with me and the rest of the gang tomorrow morning? I think you and your Pokémon could definitely use the boost for our next Gym Battle. Whaddaya say?”

Ralph didn’t want to decide, at least not right now. He would’ve rather found a hole to cry in for the night and approach it again with an open mind. But after a moment of reflection, and maybe just a little bit of a hint from May as she made a small motion with her free hand, he gave an answer. “I’ll think about it.”

Brawly shrugged. “Whatever. But in case you decide you want to, we meet on the beach at sunrise across from the dock. Hope to see you there. And bring your trunks.” Brawly left his chair, giving Ralph a hearty smack that Ralph was almost sure gave him scoliosis from the sheer force, and left the room. May took the recently-vacated chair in front of Ralph.

“I’ve seen that look before,” May began. “You’re not too big on what Brawly said to you, aren’t you?”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Ralph asked flatly.

“Well, this is kind of the same thing as what happened with that Poochyena way back on Route 102. And maybe Petalburg Woods. And maybe-“

“I get it. I’ve got a knack for getting in over my head. Quite frankly, it’s not like I’ve never _not_ been over my head these last few weeks.”

May reached out and rubbed Ralph’s forearm. Once again, she felt Ralph flinch slightly at the touch of her hand against his jacket. She wondered vaguely at why he was so defensive all the time, if even touching him was not something he expected. Maybe it had to do with the Asperger’s he mentioned before. “Hold on, you. I’m not trying to put blame on you. I’m just saying, it did kind of seem like you didn’t like what Brawly was saying to you, especially when it came to critiquing you, personally.”

“So?”

“Well…you just had this kind of…I don’t know, this dark aura around you when he said that stuff. And I’d seen it before, back when we told you to release that Poochyena. Ralph, don’t take this the wrong way, but…when you’re angry, you get scary.”

Hearing this, Ralph actually wilted a little, and he blew out a long sigh. “Well. You’re not the first person who’s told me that. It’s just…I don’t like being told I’m the one at fault, no matter how right that assessment is. I just want to do everything right. Be the one who always seems to know what to do. Have the right strategy for the right situation. Sometimes I feel like I _have_ to be the perfect one, just because it’s me.”

“And that’s why you’re here, drowning your sorrows in pizza and milk.”

“I’ll be the first to admit my ego bruises like a banana. But I couldn’t blame losing on Simurgh and the others. As far as I’m concerned, they did everything right. It’s me who threw the match, and even when I win, I’m barely scraping by…I don’t know, May. I just don’t know if I’m capable of doing this, or maybe it’s something I’m missing.”

May smiled. “Maybe that’s what Brawly’s trying to say. It’s obvious you’re not in the right mindset, you admitted it yourself on the boat ride here, and losing just made it worse. But maybe if you took him up on his offer, maybe you’d get back on track.”

Ralph actually considered it this time. May was right, and Brendan was right by extension. He’d been so focused on home and how this whole journey started, especially since beating Roxanne, he’d went in side-tracked as well as blind, and Brawly took advantage of that. It was clear he would have to change something for the next fight. Maybe whatever Brawly had planned for tomorrow was a good place to start. But getting up at sunrise, though…

“I’ll think about it."

* * *

“Chic! Chic!”

Simurgh pecked at Ralph’s face a couple of times, forcing him awake. There was no light coming through the windows, so the sun wasn’t up. Mumbling something snide, Ralph reached for his PokéNav and flipped it open. The onscreen clock read 6:00 AM. “Simurgh, what on God’s green earth could you be so excited for this early in the morning?”

Simurgh responded by getting out of bed and making his way over to the door, scratching at it with his feet. “Chic!”

Ralph groaned and slowly inched his way upward, swiping at his eyes. “Seriously? All you want is to go outside? Alright, just give me a moment so I can-“ He got out of bed as well and proceeded to open the door, and Simurgh promptly ran off down the hallway. “Simurgh! What the hell!?”

Ralph chased his Torchic down the hall of the Pokémon Center, down the stairs to the first floor, past a just-now-awoken Nurse Joy at the counter, and out the double doors. Or at least tried to, as Simurgh was too short to set off the sensor and smacked right into the door. But when Ralph got close enough to open the door, Simurgh promptly got back up off the floor and ran back out into the middle of the small town.

“Simurgh, what is up with you this morning!?” Ralph asked. “You’re not nearly this eager for…anything, honestly, so why-?”

“Chic! Chic Tor-chic!” Simurgh pointed one of his wings in the distance. After taking a moment to let his eyes adjust to the low light, Ralph could see a few people gathered around the nearby shore. The sun had yet to rise, and another check on his PokéNav stated the sun wouldn’t rise for another fifteen minutes or so.

“Wait…are you saying you want me to take up Brawly on his offer?” asked Ralph.

Simurgh nodded. “Chic! Chic!” He then proceeded to start pulling at Ralph’s ankles with his beak, claws digging into the dirt.

“Why? I mean, there’s nothing wrong with training, but there’s nothing wrong with doing some of this stuff on our own either, right? And why am I asking you this, it’s not like you could give a real answer-“ Simurgh actually spat an Ember at Ralph’s foot at that one, and Ralph quickly pulled back the foot to avoid a second shot. “Hey! That’s just rude!”

Simurgh preened one of his wings, giving him an angry sideways look. Ralph was about ready to put him back in his Poké Ball for that, but after a moment, Ralph decided it wasn’t worth it, and he put the Ball back into his jacket. “Okay, fair enough. But what do you expect me to do about it? I didn’t buy swim trunks when I got into town.”

Simurgh looked over to the side. Ralph followed his gaze to the shack that was closed when he arrived yesterday evening. It was open now, and a guy was sitting inside it, watching the waves in the coming dawn. Hanging from the roof happened to be several pairs of swim trunks. Clearly, someone had the bright idea to set up a shop for whatever newcomers came to town and sell things they might not have brought to the small beach town.

Ralph looked down at Simurgh, and then picked him up. “You really thought this one through, didn’t you?” Simurgh nipped at one of Ralph’s earlobes. “I get it, dude. It’s just…” Ralph sighed. “Do you think we can do this? We’re not exactly geared for this kind of thing, you know…”

Simurgh wiggled a little bit in Ralph’s arms to free his wings, then flapped them a few times. If he didn’t know any better, Ralph would’ve thought there were a couple of little pom-poms on the tips. And then he remembered Brawly saying that Pokémon were more in tune with their Trainers emotionally. Was this what he was referring to? Come to think of it, didn’t Fiddlesticks do something similar back in Petalburg Woods to get him to apologize to Brendan?

“I think I’m starting to get it now.”

“Chic?” Simurgh tilted his head.

“Yeah. If I’m going to take a chance on you, I may as well take a chance on myself. That’s what you’re saying, right?”

“Tor-chic! Tor-chic!” Simurgh’s face brightened, waving its little wings again.

Ralph hugged Simurgh, then put him back down. “Then come on. We don’t want to keep Brawly waiting.”

About ten minutes later, right as the sun crested over the roofs of Dewford Town, Brawly watched as Ralph, clad in a red and white swimsuit and his old Baltimore Ravens shirt, joined the small group of Trainers on the shore. The Trainer was a good foot taller than most of his fellows, and yet somehow it seemed like he was the one who probably wanted to sink into the sand on his feet. Nonetheless, Brawly smiled. “Nice of you to join us, Ralph.”

Ralph gave a grunting reply. Then, after looking down the line and realizing there were multiple Pokémon out (and an accompanying gesture from Brawly), Ralph dropped his backpack, pulled out Fiddlesticks’s and Vi’s Poké Balls out, and summoned Simurgh’s fellows.

“Alright guys. Now that we’re all here, we’re going to start with our usual run down the beach towards Route 106, and then hook left towards Granite Cave. Those Team Magma and Aqua guys are still out there, so try not to get their attention on your way back into town. By that point, the surf should’ve picked up to the point where we’re ready to go. Got it?”

And so, as May and Brendan came out of the Pokémon Center with a cup of coffee each in hand, they were greeted by the sight of several trainers in swimsuits, all led by Brawly. running in the soft sand past them up towards Route 106. Then, along came Ralph, slowly but surely jogging along with Simurgh, Fiddlesticks, and Vi in the back. It was clear that Ralph was not as athletic as the rest, but still, the four of them powered along down the beach and eventually out of sight.

“Ralph got up before us?” asked Brendan. “…okay, this coffee clearly doesn’t do crap. I think I’m still dreaming.”

“Nah,” May shook her head. “I think it’s more like Ralph took a step towards something.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next time: Brawly vs. Ralph Round 2, Ralph meets friends new and old, and then we're off to Slateport City!
> 
> And don't forget to check out the new askblog for Ralph at http://ask-the-pokemon-hero.tumblr.com/
> 
> Make sure you also visit the askblog for Brienne Lalonde, Ralph's Kalos compatriot, too, at http://ask-the-eyes-of-the-beholder.tumblr.com/


End file.
